Boise Divorce Attorney Talks About Community Property and Lottery Winnings

In today's news there was a story about a northern Idaho woman who won $190 million in a lottery jackpot. The woman was separated from her husband but had never gotten a divorce. As a Boise Divorce Attorney the question I see is, "are the lottery winnings community property?".

While there is not case on point in Idaho, Idaho Code 32-606 gives willful desertion as a grounds for divorce. In Idaho, however, you must file for divorce and actually go through a divorce proceeding to be divorced. Also, in Idaho, as long as you are married, your income is community property and anything you purchase with your money is community property. On the other hand, there is an Idaho Statute, Idaho Code 32-909, which has been determined to be unconstitutional presumably because of equal protection reasons, which states that the earnings of a wife living separate from her husband are her separate property. While the statute has been declared unconstitutional it has not been repealed.

As a Boise Divorce Attorney I see this case as one of those murky areas where there is no smoking gun, there is no black and white. While the law seems to say that the lottery winnings are community property, equity would say that the husband should have no claim to the money.

With Holly Lahti's new found wealth she certainly has the resources to pursue any claim her husband makes against her.

Pat Kershisnik is a local Boise Divorce Attorney. This blog is also available at www.lawboiseid.com at Law-in-the-news.