In this post we comment on a very mediatic sentence that we have known recently, and that deals with a very interesting matter: it analyzes how the existence (or the absence) of a community of property, economic community or economic regime of marriage or domestic partnership influences the collection of a gambling prize. Specifically, the judgment we are commenting on, issued by a court in Palma, rejects the claim of a woman who demanded from her ex-boyfriend half of a Euromillions prize that the man had won when they were still a couple.
What are the limits that define an economic community and, therefore, the obligation to include this type of prize in it?
Claiming part of a Euromillions prize from my ex-partner: Is it possible?
In this case, the defendant won in November 2019 a prize of 800,000 euros in the Euromillions draw, an amount that he paid in full into an account of his exclusive ownership.
It so happens that, at the specific time the draw was won, the couple was in a slump which, however, was overcome after a few months. In fact, they both bought an apartment shortly afterwards, and already had another home together.
In this context, the woman later claimed her share of the award arguing that their situation was similar to that of a married couple in which assets are shared.
She also assured that they both celebrated together “with great joy” the prize that her then partner had received, and that she accompanied him to the bank when he went to deposit the money.
According to the sentence, it was at the time of going to the bank to make the deposit when the plaintiff discovered that her boyfriend had decided to deposit the money in a current account of his exclusive ownership and, although she did not raise more problems then, she later understood that she was entitled to part of that amount.
However, the judge opposes this criterion, making it clear, first of all, that a common-law couple is not the same as a married couple.
In this sense, the jurisprudence of the Supreme Court is clear in establishing that it is not possible for a matrimonial property regime to exist between couples who are not married, unless there is an agreement that regulates a community of property or another system.
In this case, the judge understands that the woman has not demonstrated that this is the situation, so that “the cohabitation did not constitute an authentic economic community”..
In addition, the fact that the man had bought the participation in this lottery with his own money and in an administration that was not the one in which his partner used to buy.
On the other hand, the judge also values that both members of the couple maintained personal current accounts, although there was another account in which both participated, destined to common expenses.
In the same way, the woman would have made personal use of the money she obtained from the sale of a house she owned, which would also have been used to cover her own expenses. denies the existence of a common economy. For all these reasons, “It cannot be understood that there was an unequivocal decision to constitute a community of property in the broadest sense as a common life project with distribution of all the profits, and all this without prejudice to the fact that they decided to buy a house in equal shares and to maintain current accounts with which they covered the common expenses”. The final conclusion is that the award belonged exclusively to the man, with no duty to share it with his ex-partner.
Marriage and domestic partnership: What are the rules for the distribution of prizes of chance?
It is important to remember that, in case a couple is married, the value of a prize of any game of chance, such as the Lottery or the Euromillions, will not always have to be shared: if the couple is married under a separation of property regime and the ticket was bought by one of the parties with their own money, the prize will be privative.
However, when the couple is married in community of property regime, the situation will be different and the prize will belong to both, since it is a common economy.
If the couple is married in regime of separation of property and the ticket is bought in half, the distribution will be 50/50 (or in any other proportion if the ticket price is distributed in a different way).
Finally, in the case of the common-law couple, in principle there is no common economy, unless, as the sentence we are commenting on points out, the contrary is agreed.
If it is the case, it will be necessary to attend to the agreed thing to be able to clarify to whom or to whom the prize belongs, and in what percentages.
If you have any legal doubt regarding your rights and duties within the framework of marriage, domestic partnership, de facto union… and you want to reach a formula that fits your needs and those of your partner, please contact our Family Lawyers.
