In Utah, you can share in your spouse’s lottery winnings if the divorce is still pending. After the divorce is final, you cannot reopen the property settlement, but the winnings may justify changes to child support or alimony.
It’s one of those gut-punch moments. You’ve finalized your divorce, moved on, and then you hear the news: your former spouse has won the lottery. Your first thought is probably, “Wait a minute—don’t I get some of that?” The answer, at least in Utah, is usually no, but the nuances depend heavily on timing and the type of financial obligation involved.
If the lottery win happens while the divorce case is still pending, the situation is quite different. In Utah, all property acquired during marriage is presumptively marital property, subject to equitable division under Utah Code § 30-3-5. That includes lottery tickets purchased with marital funds, or even personal funds if the winnings significantly increase marital wealth. Timing is crucial. Consider this example: if John buys a ticket on Friday, files for divorce on Monday, and wins on Tuesday, the winnings are still marital property because the divorce wasn’t final when the ticket was purchased. In a pending case, the court can divide the winnings as part of the overall marital estate. How it’s divided isn’t strictly 50/50—the court applies equitable principles, weighing factors like contributions, duration of marriage, and each spouse’s economic circumstances.
Once the divorce is final, the law is much less forgiving. Property settlements in Utah are considered final judgments, and courts are extremely reluctant to reopen them. Utah Rule of Civil Procedure 60(b) allows relief from a judgment only in limited circumstances, such as fraud, mistake, or other extraordinary conditions. Simply put, if the lottery win occurs after the divorce decree, you generally cannot claim a portion of the money. Case law reinforces this principle. In Throckmorton v. Throckmorton, 767 P.2d 121 (Utah Ct. App. 1989), the Utah Court of Appeals emphasized the finality of property division, noting that allowing post-divorce windfalls to be litigated would undermine the stability of judgments. The only exception would be if your former spouse concealed a winning ticket purchased before the divorce in a way that qualifies as fraud under Rule 60(b)(3), but those cases are rare and require clear evidence.
While you likely won’t get a slice of the lottery winnings after divorce, a windfall (like, but not limited to, lottery winnings) can affect alimony and child support. Under Utah Code § 81-4-504(1), the court has continuing jurisdiction to make substantive changes and new orders regarding alimony based on a substantial material change in circumstances not expressly stated in the divorce decree or in the findings that the court entered at the time of the divorce decree.
A multi-million-dollar lottery win certainly qualifies as a material change. If you are paying alimony to an ex-spouse who wins the lottery, you might petition to reduce or terminate it; if you are receiving alimony, you might see an increase, although courts will still weigh factors like need and the standard of living established during the marriage.
Child support works similarly. Under Utah Code § 81-6-212, child support obligations can be modified based on a substantial change in circumstances, including significant increases in income. A post-divorce lottery windfall increases the resources available to support the child. Courts focus on the child’s best interests, and if one parent’s financial position improves dramatically, support may be recalculated to reflect that change.
It’s worth noting the practical policy behind these rules. Courts want to provide finality in property division—people need to be able to move on without fearing endless litigation over new assets. At the same time, alimony and child support are ongoing obligations, which allows flexibility to adjust for reality. This balance is why you generally cannot reach back to claim property but may see adjustments in support going forward.
The bottom line is straightforward. If your divorce is still pending, a lottery win can be treated as marital property and divided accordingly. If the divorce is final, you cannot reopen the property division simply because of a later windfall. However, that windfall may justify a modification in alimony or child support, which could indirectly benefit you or your child. Courts are guided by fairness, but also by the need to keep divorce judgments stable and enforceable. The law values finality over mere emotional notions of fairness in property division but will allow adjustments when ongoing obligations are at stake.
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