My ex-husband won the lottery!

In light of a recent Supreme Court decision it may be that a lottery win by an ex-spouse could become relevant to divorced couples in England.  In the case of Vince -v- Wyatt the couple had cohabited for only two years of marriage. They divorced in 1992. At that time neither party had any assets or income. The husband subsequently became very wealthy. In 2011, the wife applied for financial orders.  The Supreme Court has recently decided that the wife has a right to pursue a claim for financial provision against her ex-husband.

That may be the case in England, but what is the position in Scotland?  Could an individual seek to make a financial claim against their ex-spouse all those years later?

The starting point is the Family Law (Scotland) Act 1985.  This sets out that when looking at resolving financial issues between couples on divorce, the matrimonial property should be shared fairly between the spouses.  The important point for the current discussion is that "matrimonial property" means all property belonging to the parties at the relevant date (which is usually when the parties stopped living together as man and wife) which either of them obtained during the marriage but before the relevant date.  In addition, a house and its contents which was obtained by either of the parties before marriage for use as a family home will also be classed as matrimonial property.  There is an exception for property which was obtained by way of gift or inheritance from a third party.

As will be seen then, the starting point of the definition of matrimonial property in Scotland means that the elusive lottery win post divorce would fail to be within grasp of the ex-spouse in the way it would south of the border.  It may be that there are other ways for an ex-spouse to secure a share of the winnings, but that is a matter for further discussion another day…… 

The Drummond Miller Family Law Team is extremely experienced in dealing with all aspects of Family Law including separation and divorce, financial matters and issues regarding contact and residence of children.  If you would like further information and advice please get in touch with our experienced Family Law Solicitors in Edinburgh, Dalkeith, Musselburgh and Bathgate.