“All you need is a dollar and a dream.” Mega Millions. Powerball. Pick-6. State lotteries all over the country encourage people to pluck down their dollars for the dream of possibly winning a fortune and being financially set for the rest of their lives. However, for one Michigan man, that “dream” may have been considered more of a nightmare when he was directed in his divorce case to turn over to his ex-wife $15 million, nearly one-half of the net, after-tax amount he received after winning an $80 million Mega Millions jackpot in 2013. That decision was recently affirmed by the Michigan Court of Appeals in Zelasko v. Zelasko (Docket No: 342854 decided June 13, 2019).

Why the husband may have considered a lottery jackpot to be a “nightmare” included the fact that the parties married in 2004, separated in 2008, filed a divorce complaint in 2011—almost two years before the winning lottery ticket was purchased—and where the wife had been the primary breadwinner, earning roughly three times what the husband earned. Why such a result? Most critically, under Michigan law, “marital property” subject to equitable distribution in a divorce includes all property acquired from the date of marriage until the date of entry of the divorce decree. Hence even property acquired after a separation or divorce complaint is filed is considered marital property in Michigan. Since these parties’ actual divorce did not become final until 2018, the lottery winnings of 2013 were still considered marital property.

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