They say ‘you make your own luck’.
And luck, according to Richard Zelasko, won him $80 million.
However, a court is making him split it with his ex.
This divorce case entered the Michigan appeals court.
The lotto winner, the panel ruled, was to divide his recently won, $80 million prize.
He was to split it with his wife.
This is because he won it whilst divorcing his ex-wife, Mary Zelasko.
Furthermore, an arbitrator decided that Richard should share his prize due to the couple’s history of shared losses.
This decision was made because Richard’s gambling tendency caused the couple to lose money over the course of their marriage.
However Scott Bassett, Richard’s attorney, disagrees:
‘Rich was lucky, but it was his luck, not Mary’s,
That produced the lottery proceeds’
The couple’s marriage lasted seven years, before filing for divorce in 2011.
However, the divorce wasn’t final until 2018.
How are assets divided in a Californian divorce?
-marital assets and debts belong equally to both spouses
-if divorcing couples can’t decide how to divide their property and debts they have to ask the court to do it for them
Couples/courts need to:
-determine whether the property/debt is marital/separate
-agree on marital property value
-decide on property division
When divorcing, it’s important to protect your finances against divorce proceedings.
Get professional advice.
Look at the services on offer at www.vincentmiller.com