Lottery Winnings Subject to Child Support, Court Rules

Divorced or separated parents about to play the lottery, take note: if you hit the jackpot, a chunk of your winnings may go for child support, under a state appeals court ruling Friday.

In the case of a Contra Costa County man who won $100,000 in the state lottery in 1986, the 1st District Court of Appeal ruled that lottery winnings are income, which is used to determine the level of child support.

Under state law, the minimum child support level for a couple with one child is 18% of net income a year until the child turns 18.

Deputy Atty. Gen. Linda James, who represented the county in the case, said that although other winners in the lottery have probably owed child support, this appears to be the first time the issue has been raised in court.

Fredric Webster, lawyer for the husband in the case, Neal Lemon of Pittsburg, said he would talk to Lemon before deciding whether to appeal.

James said Lemon came to the attention of county welfare officials because of publicity about his prize. “His picture was in the Contra Costa paper, he was interviewed and he had a big party,” she said.

At the time, Lemon had been separated from his wife, Melody, since 1983. He had been making about $7,000 a year from odd jobs, and she was not employed; the county had been paying her welfare for the couple’s daughter, Denise, since a month after the separation. Denise turns 18 this December.

The month after the lottery, the county sought to require Lemon to repay the welfare payments out of his lottery winnings and begin paying child support to his wife. Lemon filed for divorce the following month.

His after-tax lottery proceeds were $75,000, and he agreed to set aside $15,000 of it in a trust account during the case. The court said he spent the rest within two months after winning it.