'I won £135k on EuroMillions – but then mother-in-law took me to court'
Bagging a £130,000 EuroMillions jackpot is usually the start of a lavish spree, but for one woman, it led to a courtroom showdown with her own mother-in-law.
The Spanish resident, known simply as H, scooped up the hefty sum in 2021, pocketing €154,073 (around £131,000). Yet, what should have been a stroke of fortune turned sour, sparking a bitter legal feud.
At the time of her windfall, H was receiving social benefits, so the prize money was stashed in a joint account under her husband's name, as reported by Telecinco, to safeguard her benefits.
But the real loss wasn't her benefits; it was her husband, who tragically passed away months after their EuroMillions win, ending their 30-year marriage.
In the aftermath, J, the grieving mother of the deceased, laid claim to over half of the lottery winnings, insisting it was her son's inheritance.
She took the battle to the Provincial Court of Oviedo, contending that "it was her son who bought the ticket, deposited it, and opened an account in his name", therefore excluding his wife from the equation.
Despite her plea for €92,780 (about £80,000), the court sided with the daughter-in-law.
Their verdict was clear in that "the person who won the EuroMillions draw for week 15/21 on Friday, April 16, with an amount of 154,073 euros was H".
The verdict clarified that "the amount deposited on April 21, 2021, totalling 131,259.08 euros into a bank account opened on April 20, 2021, corresponds to the amount, after taxes, of the previous prize".
Further details revealed by the court showed that it was indeed H who initially bought the ticket at a lottery office located in Saturnino Fresno, Oviedo.
The fortunate widow scooped the winnings by correctly picking five numbers and one star, with testimony during the trial confirming that "H was a regular customer and always went alone to buy tickets", which was also true for the lucky ticket in question.
For the disheartened mother-in-law, her legal battle ended in defeat as she recently found out she wouldn't receive any part of the windfall.
Throughout the futile legal battle, she maintained that her son was the real purchaser of the ticket, and she even cast doubt over the marriage, claiming her son "lived with his wife but would go to her house whenever he wanted".
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