A $1.2-million lottery win in Nova Scotia has sparked a family feud.

Barb Reddick and her nephew Tyrone MacInnis were the winners at the Chase the Ace lottery in Margaree Forks, N.S., on Wednesday night.

The grand prize was $1,222,639.00, so Reddick and MacInnis each won $611,319.50.

But as the organizers handed them separate cheques after a photo op on Thursday, and Reddick said she was taking her nephew to court for his half of the winnings.

"I'm getting my lawyer tomorrow," she said.

Reddick said she put MacInnis's name on the ticket for good luck and claims she agreed to split the money if they won the consolation prize -- but not the jackpot.

When asked why she did that, Reddick responded: "Because he's like a son to me … he was."

"Yeah he was lucky, but not for half a million dollars," Reddick said.

Even organizers seemed stunned as they watched the dispute unfold.

"I can't really explain it. I didn't really expect anything like that to happen. I just came to deliver the cheques to the winners," said Bernice Curley, chairwoman of the Chase the Ace lottery fundraiser.

"I'm a little bit disappointed that this happened at the end."

When asked if she thought her nephew deserved the money, Reddick said: "No, I don't think so."

Organizers said the ticket that was selected Wednesday evening contained the names of both Reddick and MacInnis, but they were not present at the fire hall. When they made the call, it was MacInnis's phone number on the ticket.

Curley said she figured issuing separate cheques would be easier for the winners, and called Nova Scotia's Department of Alcohol and Gaming to make sure that was allowed.

Organizers said they are confident they followed the rules.

Chase the Ace is similar to a 50-50 draw, but there's a twist. Instead of giving half of the ticket sales to the person whose ticket is drawn, they instead get 20 per cent -- and the chance to draw an ace from a deck of cards for a larger jackpot. If they fail to draw the ace, 30 per cent of the ticket sales are added to a growing pot until another winner draws the ace.

It's the fourth time the popular fundraiser has reached more than $1 million in Cape Breton.