Two adult children of a deceased Parksville woman who won a $3-million lottery prize last year have launched legal action to obtain what they consider their fair share of the jackpot.
According to a B.C. Lottery Corporation release in July of 2021, Frances Lloyd was enjoying a low-key Sunday morning at home when she decided to open her laptop and check her ticket from the June 19 Lotto 6/49 draw.
She couldn’t believe it, read the release, when she saw that along with a ticket purchased in Atlantic Canada, she’d matched six of six numbers to split the $6-million jackpot, for $3 million.
Lloyd said she phoned her daughter immediately for an anything-but-ordinary weekend catch up. She celebrated with dinner and champagne toasts with her family and planned to purchase a new home and gift some of the prize money to her family.
Lloyd died on Jan. 2 without a last will and testament, according to a lawsuit filed April 11 in the Supreme Court of British Columbia.
The suit states that before she passed away, Lloyd deposited the winnings into a joint savings account, previously set up with her daughter, Lisa Turnbull, of Nanaimo, so she could assist with paying bills and making incidental purchases for Lloyd.
READ MORE: Dream comes true as Parksville woman collects $3-million Lotto 6/49 jackpot
The suit claims Lloyd gave Turnbull approximately $500,000 to assist with financing of the home she and her husband, Stephen Turnbull, share. In October, Lloyd gave her son, Matthew Lawruk, of Port Coquitlam, $500,000, according to court documents.
Lloyd’s other two children, Frances Graham of Langley, and Stephanie Kennery of Paris, Ont., are suing for what they consider their share of the money.
Graham and Kennery, the plaintiffs, claim half of the $3-million prize should be equally divided between them.
No response has yet been filed to the lawsuit. None of the allegations have been tested in court.
