22nd November 2010

A man whose former wife left him for another man ten years ago, but who later won a massive Euromillions lottery jackpot, has been successfully sued by her for a portion of the prize fund. Divorce law experts suggest that had the couple agreed a clean-break settlement her claim would have been futile.

Newspaper reports say the 44-year-old Cirencester man had intended to give the mother of his daughter a lump sum of £1 million, but his ex-wife decided to return to court, in a divorce settlement variation case, to seek £8 million.

An out-of-court settlement was agreed between the couple whereby the 43-year-old director of human resources at a Cirencester wealth management company would receive £2 million and a substantial increase in maintenance payments for the child.

The man is believed to be the first UK lottery winner to be successfully sued for a portion of prize winnings by an ex-partner.

A family law specialist from Cheltenham said, "The moral of this tale is you need a court order to confirm the financial settlement at the time of divorce.

"Otherwise, in five or 10 years' time, when you've won the lottery, floated your company or inherited a vast sum, technically your ex-spouse could decide they want to pursue their financial claims.

"At that stage, the information before the court will be the present assets. Divorce could be amicable at the time, but you don't know how circumstances are going to change."

If a clean-break settlement on divorce had been agreed when the couple originally negotiated their ancillary relief package, the question regarding the mother's claim on newly-received assets would not have arisen.