Legal stoush after lottery winner dies

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A Australian man won a A$1.8 million ($2 million) lottery jackpot and died the next day, leaving his four children embroiled in a courtroom battle over who should receive the spoils.

Alexander Frank Szanto bought the winning ticket on February 13 last year but died the following day.

At the time of his death the winning lottery ticket was located in his flat, underneath his daughter's home at Townsville, in far north Queensland.

The winning ticket became the subject of a battle in the Townsville Supreme Court earlier this month as Mr Szanto's four children argued over who was its rightful owner.

Justice Keiran Cullinane has now ruled that the wording of Mr Szanto's will meant the winnings should be shared among three of the children, rather than going entirely to the daughter who owned the house and flat where the ticket was located.

However, the battle for the cash is not over. Proceedings are still to be heard about whether Mr Szanto bought the ticket for himself alone, or whether he bought it to share with one of his sons.

- AAP