Jiangxi court rules ex-wife must share lottery winnings

A woman in Ganzhou, Jiangxi province, has been ordered by a court to split her 5 million yuan ($688,000) lottery winnings with her ex-husband, even though they were divorced.

The Ganzhou Zhanggong District People's Court ruled that the woman surnamed Chen, must pay her ex-husband, surnamed Qi, 2 million yuan from her winnings.

According to court documents, Qi and Chen had a child together and divorced to maintain eligibility for subsidized public housing while buying a new apartment. However, the couple never separated physically, continuing to cohabitate, co-parent, and run a joint advertising business.

In May 2022, Chen purchased a winning lottery ticket for 2 yuan and kept the 5 million yuan windfall a secret from Qi until discussions about dividing their assets began in August.

Qi sued Chen after discovering the hidden winnings. The court ruled in his favor, citing their cohabitation until August 2022 despite the legal divorce. Due to the ambiguity surrounding the source of the 2 yuan used to purchase the ticket, the court deemed it impossible to determine if the funds came from Chen, Qi, or their shared finances. As a consequence, the court ordered an equal division of the after-tax winnings (4 million yuan).

Chen appealed the decision, but the second instance court upheld the original ruling.