It's really none of my business OldSchool.  I am certainly no expert when it comes to marriages.  I just would never keep a secret like that from my spouse.

Anyway, I think your wife may be much smarter than you think.  If you are self-employed and use Form 1040 along with Form SE and Schedule C, etc.,  it would be next to impossible to hide what you won only because you wouldn't be showing that income on those forms. I see you already thought of that.  Depends on your relationship anyway.  My mother never looked at a tax return in her life AFAIK. I'm sure she would have just signed whatever my Dad put in front of her.  However, I doubt if he hid anything from her.

BTW, don't think Fundamentalist Christians aren't on LP...  LOL!  Many very religious people might want to hide playing the lottery from their church, but nobody's perfect!  As I said, it's none of my business and I don't judge other people's personal relationships.  I just think it's ironic that someone who is secretly doing something doesn't consider that the person he is hiding that secret from is capable of also secretly doing something.  I'm not talking about you (really) but let's say a man is cheating on his wife.  He'll go out and sneak behind her back and then get furious (and hurt) when he finds out she's been having an affair!  "OMG!  How can she do that to me?" 

justxploring:

Yeah, I know in some camps what I am doing might be considered foul play...doing anything that one must keep a secret from their spouse...but in discussions like this with my wife, we have agreed that their are times when we have to agree to disagree and keep loving each other.  However, she was really adamant THAT I NOT PLAY the lottery...kind of like she was commanding me as though I were a child.  Of course, you know what usually happens when you tell a child not to do something that they see nothing wrong in doing...they do it anyway behind their parents' backs.  Now I definitely do not consider myself a childish person.  I believe in taking care of all my responsibilities.  But I also see playing the lottery as one of my recreational outlets just like playing golf.  I figure that this is one recreational outlet that actually benefits a good cause whether I win or not...and should I happen to win, then in my eyes, that's truly a win-win situation!

Yep, all it would have taken was to get divorced before he or she started shacking up with anyone else.  Then he wouldn't have felt the need to offer to split the jackpot with his girlfriend in order to keep it away from his estranged wife, and he could have kept the whole thing instead of 25%.

I wonder if he still has any of it left?  He doesn't seem to be the type to plan for the future or to make good decisions. 

Wouldn't the spouse only get half if you already claimed it? Lets say you won a big jackpot, but you haven't claimed it yet, and you get a divorce, then you claimed it. I mean, if you haven't claimed it yet, there wouldn't be anything to show a huge income accumulation. Just keep the ticket hidden until the divorce is over?

GULL's not Stupid

FESS-up BOUY's>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

WHAT are the GULL's>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

GOOD FOR??????

Or they could get their butts hauled back to court (and maybe jail?) for attempting to conceal assets.  If you live in a state where there's no anonymity, you know the ex is gonna find out.

EQUAL for ...................................................................................!!!!

Boooooooooooooooouuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuyyyyyyyyyy'ssssss

or>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

or>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

GULL$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$

.............................

A California woman tried that a few years ago.  She was in an office pool that won the lottery and since her husband wasn't working and she didn't want to support him, she divorced him before he found out about her lottery winnings.  She was fine for a year until he found out about it (she was doing too good without him) so he went back to court to redo their divorce settlement and the judge was so mad at her deceit that he ordered her to give it all to her ex-husband.  I think she appealed that decision. 

Once you choose a mate and make it legal, they earn half of what you accumulate during the marriage by just being around.

Do you think anyone would sue their spouse if their spouse won a jackpot immediately after the divorce?

Why not, people who only shared a booty call have sued why not a spouse?

In Re  the  above  case  ......  this  case  is  not  subject  to  US laws ;

the  above case  would  be  in  each  state  court  then after  5  years   appealed to  federal  district  court  and  about $$ 265,000  in  legall fees  latter , before  reaching  the  US SUPREAM  COURT  if  the  court  would  hear  it ....The  best  deal  he  could  have  expected  was  50-50  :

He  could  take  the  money  back  from  the  kids  legaly  but  not  from  his  ex-wife  ...but  whats  this  old  bag  gonna  do  withso  much  money ...she  will  most  likely  get  the  best  outfits  money  can  buy  start  sleeping  with any  one  who  wanted  her  then  those  other  men  -  will  end  up  pumping  her  for  the  loot  she  stole  from  her  husband;

doggie  doggie

I think it depends on the divorce agreement.  If you have children and child support is based on income, then it makes sense that the State would increase the child support.  That might be automatic in some cases.

I don't think a ex-wife or ex-husband is entitled to any money won after the divorce is final unless the winner was behind in his/her obligations.  Let's say 2 people agree to payoff their debts.  If one falls behind because he used the money to gamble, I'd say the other has a pretty good shot at collecting some of the prize money if negligence could be proven.

If the CA woman had won herself (instead of as part as an office pool), kept it quiet and then divorced her husband (and waited the six months to become final) BEFORE cashing in her lotto ticket - Would that have been a better plan in what she was trying to do/get away with?

There probably are spouses that have gotten away with cheating their exes out of a fair share of what was accumulated during their time together but only the ones that got caught ever made the news.

Unless you live someplace where your spouse isn't entitled to a share of the assets accumulated during the marriage, one of the routine parts of a divorce is an accounting of all assets in order to determine an equitable division of those assets. A winning lottery ticket is an asset, so it has to be disclosed. As in the case noted above, attempting to conceal assets is a good way to lose them.