To ask if Million pound lottery winner who refuses to share money with partner should have shared?

[SweetBirdsong]

I am surprised this isn't on here actually. It's been on the news for 2 days, and has just been discussed on Loose Women.

From the article...

A couple are waging war over a £1 million lotto scratchcard they ‘purchased together’ weeks before breaking up.

Michael Cartlidge, 39, and former partner Charlotte Cox, 37, purchased the
Lottery card together at a shop in Spalding, Lincs. But when Charlotte walked out on Michael a few weeks later, she was deemed to be the sole winner of the jackpot by lottery chiefs.

Michael admits that Charlotte both paid for and scratched the ticket. But he also claims that he was the one who suggested she buy the ticket and attempted to transfer her cash to cover the purchase while they were in the shop.
He says the mum-of-one initially agreed to split the cash, but later welched on the deal after breaking up with him a few weeks later and claimed she was the sole winner of the jackpot.

He said ‘£1million has never brought such misery.’

So, was the woman (Charlotte) wrong to have kept all the money to herself? They were not married, they didn't own any property together or have joint finances, and they'd only been together 3 months. Lottery chiefs said she is the sole owner of the money and does not have to share it.

YABU - she was WRONG to keep the money and should have split it with him. They were 'a couple.' He didn't pay for the ticket, but they got it at the same time.

YANBU - she was RIGHT to keep it - as she paid for the ticket herself, and didn't need to share it. They'd only been together 3 months, they weren't married, and they didn't have a house together or joint finances.

https://metro.co.uk/2024/02/20/man-claims-ex-dumped-weeks-bought-winning-1-000-000-scratchcard-20311093/

Absolutely hers for a 3 month relationship, that bloke is trying it on. 30 years together and he might have some kind of claim, but 3 months is a fling, not a relationship.

No people don’t buy scratch cards together!

She's the sole winner and he's a chancer! The use of the word 'partner' has gotten ridiculous! Dating somebody for 3 months isn't the same thing as being somebodies partner.

I think she's mean. I would definitely stretch to sending him a bottle of champagne over to his prison cell.

From now on I will make sure that I always tell people in a shop “Buy a lottery ticket. Buy it now! And let me know your address.” So on the off chance they win a huge amount I will be able to claim my share. It might mean I get banned from a few lottery ticket outlets for causing a nuisance , but heck, for half a million - hopefully a lot more- I am prepared to take that risk.

"they'd only been together 3 months"
Until that point I was leaning towards sharing. But they're not partners, are they? Then I read the Sun article and his story just jars.

Charlottes are never wrong. Three months is not a relationship.

It must have been so clear she paid for it ie there was CCTV or it was paid for with her card, that Camelot have decided it’s her win. So he doesn’t have a claim , especially after 3 months. Chancer.

She paid so it's hers.
No wonder they split up!

morally its better shared, legally at a guess with her purchasing the card then the Charlotte is the owner

Why should she share it "morally"???

if its true and it was his suggestion to buy the ticket then without his suggestion then the winning ticket would not have been purchased, takes two to tango in this case

But people suggest lots of things all the time. He didn't suggest the numbers - he just told her to buy the tickets. This is a man with a history of violence towards women who's living in her house very shortly after meeting her and who is also unemployed. It's pretty easy to join dots.

Right so he was going to transfer her what, 50p for a ticket before it was scratched just in case they won at best the usual £2? And she'd have them handed him £1 back. Unlikely.

So Def seems it's been said to claim the prize.

No, she has no need to share. He suggested it, had money in the bank, he could have brought his own

I did not know this. I've learnt something new.

I don’t know why I’m continuously surprised by the brazen nature of man.

Imagine being so shameless you try to publicly shame your ex into giving you hundreds of thousands of pounds when you are about to go on trial for violence against another ex. That’s before you even consider they were only together for three months, she paid for it and he tried to steal it. How is this man not embarrassed?

No, this lady should not and doesn't have to share.
I believe if married, it doesn't matter who bought or "scratched" the card, it's half and half in case of split. 😊

Without even knowing that you could tell his character immediately. What man moves in with a single mother within three months of meeting her? He seems to bounce from one vulnerable woman to another. Hopefully she will now throw money at therapy so she doesnt end up with another partner beating entitled loser.

If they paid for them jointly with the intention of it being joint winnings - morally I think it should be shared.
im not sure this man cares about morals.

But he also claims that he was the one who suggested she buy the ticket

On that basis, if I suggest a friend gives a bloke she meets on Tinder a chance, I get to sleep with him as well if it turns out he’s got a massive cock.

This is a man with a history of violence towards women ...

Errr, WHAT???

my apologies with that new context then 100% it should be charlottes

Pretty much a clean sweep almost. 92% of nearly 1200 posters are on the woman's side (who bought the ticket.)

The relationship must have been shit - or non-existent, or she would not have done what she did.

The 8% of people saying YABU are probably mostly men! I can't imagine most women thinking what the woman did is wrong.

Good for her 😂

It’s a no brainer. They weren’t a married couple who bought a lottery ticket together. She’s a woman who bought a lottery ticket while she was out with her boyfriend one day. He has no more claim that if he’d been a mate she was out shopping with.

But where would this all end? If my friend suggests I’d like a certain restaurant, does that mean I have to invite her there at my expense? If I’m thinking of getting a car and my colleague suggests I have a look at the one her neighbour is selling, am I then obliged to give her lifts to work all the time? If I’m looking to move and buy a place after my sister sent me a RightMove link, is she then entitled to a share of the profit when I sell it on?

You say you’ve changed your opinion now you know his history. Why? Being violent to his ex makes him a scuzzball, but it doesn’t make him less entitled to a share of this lottery win, any more than he’d be more entitled if he was a lovely man who ran a soup kitchen and nursed sick puppies. It’s about legal entitlement - and whether he’s nice or vile, this man has no entitlement to the winnings, and rightly so.