## Facts

- The husband filed for divorce in Rhode Island Family Court on October 7, 1987.
- At trial on May 20, 1988, the parties reached an in-court settlement: the husband would keep future income from his medical practice from May 20, 1988, and the parties would divide equally the net proceeds from the sale of marital assets.
- On May 31, 1988, the Family Court entered an interlocutory “decision pending entry of final judgment” reflecting the settlement.
- On December 25, 1988, while still married, the husband learned he had won a Massachusetts lottery prize worth about $2.4 million, payable over twenty years at $120,000 per year.
- The husband did not disclose the winnings to the wife or the court before entry of the final divorce judgment.
- On April 27, 1989, the Family Court entered a final judgment of divorce stating: “Commencing as of May 20, 1988, all income of Plaintiff shall be the sole property of Plaintiff.”
- The husband claimed the lottery prize on October 6, 1989, stating he delayed for health reasons and to liquidate his medical practice.
- In December 1990, the wife sought post-judgment relief under Rule 64A, alleging fraud by nondisclosure and asserting the lottery winnings were a marital asset subject to equitable distribution.
- The Family Court dismissed the wife’s complaint, reasoning that the interlocutory order finally adjudicated the parties’ property rights.

## Issues

1. Whether lottery winnings acquired during the marriage but before entry of the final divorce judgment constitute marital property subject to equitable distribution.
2. Whether an interlocutory “decision pending entry of final judgment” finally adjudicates divorce property rights so as to bar post-judgment relief regarding an undisclosed asset.

## Decision

- The Supreme Court of Rhode Island reversed the Family Court’s dismissal insofar as it concerned the lottery prize.
- The court held the lottery winnings were a marital asset subject to equitable distribution.
- The court held the interlocutory order did not finally adjudicate property rights; the final judgment is the operative adjudication.
- The case was remanded for further proceedings consistent with treating the lottery prize as marital property.

## Legal Principles

- Property acquired during the marriage is generally marital property for equitable distribution purposes, including a lottery prize won before entry of final divorce judgment.
- The right to lottery proceeds accrues when the winning ticket is drawn, not when the prize is later claimed.
- Interlocutory divorce orders do not conclusively fix property rights where the final judgment is the dispositive decree and differs in wording or effect.
- A spouse’s nondisclosure of a substantial asset obtained during the marriage can support post-judgment relief and reopening of the property distribution.
- General decree language allocating one spouse’s “income” after a specified date is interpreted in context and does not necessarily include undisclosed windfall assets acquired during the marriage.

## Conclusion

The court ruled that the husband’s undisclosed lottery winnings, won while the parties were still married and before entry of the final divorce judgment, were marital property subject to equitable distribution, and that the interlocutory order did not bar post-judgment relief concerning that asset.


Giha v. Giha, 609 A.2d 945 (R.I. 1992)