You last visited August 30, 2008, 12:11 am
|
Vancouver lottery winner loses in divorce case
Vancouver lottery winner loses in divorce casePosted: 4/17/2007 8:36:18 AM  A $10 million lottery windfall brought an estranged Vancouver couple back together. But eight years later, the marriage wound up in divorce court with a sticky issue to be resolved: What should be done with $2.2 million in an account the husband claimed was for his personal use? In granting their divorce last week, B.C. Supreme Court Justice Heather Holmes ruled the $2.2 million must be split between Minh Kien Le, 58, and his ex-wife, Mai Huong Cao, 55. The couple escaped with their two young children by boat from their native Vietnam after the fall of Saigon in 1975. They settled in Terrace and later moved to Vancouver and scraped together enough money to buy a house on Fraser Street. Le was laid off in 1996 and did odd jobs for cash until he became a multimillionaire in the Dec. 23, 1999 Super 7 draw. After his win, Le gifted his three children $1.5 million each. Together, the couple built a new house on West 59th Avenue and put it in Cao's name. Both sides agreed that interest from a joint account containing $2.2 million paid household expenses of about $115,000 a year and should be divided equally. But Le considered $2.2 million in an account in his name alone to be his, although he used some of the money for family purposes. That was enough to satisfy the law on splitting assets. "Challenged about how he could have paid from the joint account all the family expenses set out in his financial statement, [Le] responded that he would withdraw amounts from the second fund and place them in his own checking account as necessary to pay family or other expenses," said the judge, noting that amounted to paying the expenses from the second fund. Source: Vancouver Province
Nashville, Tn United States Member #39102 May 3, 2006 226 Posts Offline |
| Posted: April 17, 2007, 8:42 am - IP Logged |
|
lol bless his lil heart.....he tried  waiting patiently for my jackpot
|
|
|
Gurnee, Illinois United States Member #50189 February 12, 2007 248 Posts Offline |
| Posted: April 17, 2007, 8:59 am - IP Logged |
|
Although my wife and I have made a pact that we will never consider divorce as an option in our relationship, this is exactly why men and women who play the lottery absent their spouses participation should keep any win secret. Just kidding. But actually I wouldn't tell my wife if I ever won the lottery...she doesn't condone me playing it, so since she doesn't know I still play it, she doesn't need to know when I win it either. Great logic don't you think?! Well, hopefully for this guy he is on good terms with his children....he might need a place to stay since the house is in her name...how smart was that now?!!! Forget the formulas...you only win when you're lucky!
|
|
|
nashville United States Member #50355 February 18, 2007 907 Posts Offline |
| Posted: April 17, 2007, 9:33 am - IP Logged |
|
im single and i dont have any kids but it sounds like winning the lottery does put a strain on a few relationships.
|
|
|
Illinois United States Member #30849 January 17, 2006 3390 Posts Online |
| Posted: April 17, 2007, 9:47 am - IP Logged |
|
OlsSchoolPa "...she doesn't condone me playing it, so since she doesn't know I still play it,..." If she's lurking on this board she knows now...  Sorry, but just couldn't resist It's Lotto, not horseshoes or artillery!
close doesn't count! I sell everything at a loss but make up for it in volume
- Milo Minderbinder, Catch-22
|
|
|
Sunny SW Florida United States Member #25708 November 5, 2005 4068 Posts Offline |
| Posted: April 17, 2007, 10:52 am - IP Logged |
|
I know Old School is joking, but it doesn't matter whether someone's spouse approves or disapproves of the lottery or what a person tells his/her spouse. Although the Law in each state is different, if 2 people are legally married when the ticket is purchased, then it usually is considered to be joint property. Sure it's very possible to hide assets, and many people do, but that means you are lying on a legal document about them. You can always get a cheap no-contest divorce, but it's still lying if you don't list the lottery ticket where it asks you to list your income, your property and its estimated value.
|
|
|
Hamilton, OH United States Member #4236 March 27, 2004 156 Posts Offline |
| Posted: April 17, 2007, 11:43 am - IP Logged |
|
Money creates many options. Unfortunately, many couples stay together for financial reasons. Excess funds give people the option of looking for more personal happiness; hence, they divorce. It may be for the best.
|
|
|
mid-Ohio United States Member #9 March 24, 2001 8938 Posts Offline |
| Posted: April 17, 2007, 11:59 am - IP Logged |
|
I remember years ago when Ohio SuperLotto had $50M+ jackpots, a guy from Pennsylvania and his wife had drifted apart and was pretty much living their own lives happily with no problems until he won the Ohio lottery jackpot of $60M. His wife had shacked up with some guy and he claimed his girlfriend/co-worker was a co-owner of his winning ticket thinking he would avoid splitting his winnings with his estrange wife. His wife went to court and divorced him and also got half of his share of the winnings and the girlfriend decided to go her own way with her half and he ended up with just a quarter of the winnings which should have been all his. What happens most is most likely to happen again
|
|
|
Gurnee, Illinois United States Member #50189 February 12, 2007 248 Posts Offline |
| Posted: April 17, 2007, 1:13 pm - IP Logged |
|
I remember years ago when Ohio SuperLotto had $50M+ jackpots, a guy from Pennsylvania and his wife had drifted apart and was pretty much living their own lives happily with no problems until he won the Ohio lottery jackpot of $60M. His wife had shacked up with some guy and he claimed his girlfriend/co-worker was a co-owner of his winning ticket thinking he would avoid splitting his winnings with his estrange wife. His wife went to court and divorced him and also got half of his share of the winnings and the girlfriend decided to go her own way with her half and he ended up with just a quarter of the winnings which should have been all his. This is why I wouldn't tell my wife...not that we would get a divorce...I do not fear that...rather it is the point that she doesn't believe that I am still playing the lottery...so if I told her I (we) had won, she would know that I had not stopped playing the lottery. In this case, this guy brought this all upon himself...sucker! But at least he is a 1/4 Ohio SuperLotto jackpot sucker...better that than a never have won the jackpot sucker! Forget the formulas...you only win when you're lucky!
|
|
|
Gurnee, Illinois United States Member #50189 February 12, 2007 248 Posts Offline |
| Posted: April 17, 2007, 1:20 pm - IP Logged |
|
I know Old School is joking, but it doesn't matter whether someone's spouse approves or disapproves of the lottery or what a person tells his/her spouse. Although the Law in each state is different, if 2 people are legally married when the ticket is purchased, then it usually is considered to be joint property. Sure it's very possible to hide assets, and many people do, but that means you are lying on a legal document about them. You can always get a cheap no-contest divorce, but it's still lying if you don't list the lottery ticket where it asks you to list your income, your property and its estimated value. I wouldn't be trying to hide assets...oh my wife would know that our investment account would be huge...she would just think that I found a nice line of wealthy clients and businesses in my line of work...she would never know were the proceeds came from...yes, I know I would have to file taxes and that the lottery commission would send me a W-2G with "Lottery Commission" clearly printed on the outside of the envelop...that is why I would direct all lottery commission mail to a newly opened Post Office Box at my local post office and when we have our taxes done by a tax pro, I would cover up the line for lottery/gambling winnings as we review it so that she never sees the source (that might be the weak link in all my plans to keep it secret from my wife). And no, she doesn't surf lottery websites...she's more into the fundamental christian websites. Forget the formulas...you only win when you're lucky!
|
|
|
|
