Really James ?   REALLY ?.....There you have it folks !!! I can understand the remaining anonymous aspect if its allowed under Indiana law , but not having the common sense to tell your (still married) spouse. Anyone with the IQ of a handball would know they have to share equally with their on again off again legally married partner. One word describes his actions, "GORMLESS"

Estranged or not, this guy is a loser. $15 million less taxes isn't enough for you that you can't give her and your kids a piece.

Come on man! Whatta tool. Hope karma kicks ya right in the -.

She is jumping with joy..I get half! I get half!, I get half!

Child support, too!  I hit the the lottery!!!  Ha-ha-ha-ha!!!

and she should.....

Whoa. How many days was he sitting on this winner before the lawyer came forward? Two? Three? Sit on it for awhile. Claiming in while it is still news in a small-ish town...

Nonetheless, in the eyes of the law and lottery, you are either married or not. Take care of your family.

If I was her, I would really worry about my back.  Some folks are so greedy for money that they will do anything to keep it.

I was starting to wonder: I understand her getting a lawyer involved, but why did she bother kicking the hornets nest by going on TV?

No He Didn't!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

James really wasn't thinking ahead.  He should have had his parents claim the ticket for him and then told his wife he wanted to finalize his divorce then quit working.  That way it would appear that his parents were paying for his lifestyle. 

I fully believe that James would have not only continued to pay his child support, he would have paid all their bills and he probably would have given her some money, but not half.  Now he's screwed.

I am not trying to say what he was attempting to do was right, but having been divorced, I would have done it to keep my ex from getting half of MY winnings.  I would gladly pay all my kids bills, college, cars.  But I'd rather not give her the time of day. 

Just sayin.

And on the flip side: he's so greedy and distrustful, that the dumb s**t doesn't give the ticket to his mother, cousin, or best friend to cash?!   Now... pay the Lady! hahahahaha

(But... why you on TV??)

I'm glad his wife found out the truth, even from him.  She is entitled to some of the money for herself, (they're still married) and for the children.  I'm so glad he didn't have someone claim it for him.  If that happened I hope the person renigs on the promise and they have a long battle in court.  It's amazing, I'm good enough for you when everything is average yet when you excell, (still married) i should be cut out.  Having worked for him since business started I'm sure she contributed to it's success or whatever state the business is in.

Good for her!!!!!!!!

This guy is stupid all he had to do was talk to her about a divorce and proceed with it before claiming the ticket

Anytime you win the lottery if you are seperated, have a messy situation, or live in a common law state more than likely the

Sposes attorney will put up a big argument over why he feels you are rightfully entitled to any of the money.

This story gets me sick. Strange lady and guy who doesn't like his wife wins the lottery. Now the girl wants to be a creep and try to get some money. I'm never getting married.

Yet another example, for we lottery players, that a gambler doesn't have to be a 'respector of others' in order to receive a great fortune.  Come one, come all gamblers!

what a bloomin onion moron

Don't EVER get married New York. You can take that to the bank. (as long as your not married  )

What make you think his family and friends would have been less greedy and distrustful than him?  Years ago a guy from Pennsylvania won an Ohio Super Lotto jackpot of $60M and had his girlfriend cash-in his ticket to avoid sharing it with estranged wife.  She left him with her half and he still had to share the half he had with his estranged wife which after lawyer fees and such ended up being less than 20% of the original prize amount.

Absolutely correct. That "Greed" thread runs through us all.

Better off leaving it to your dog, one of the few remaining friends you can depend on. 

Well, apparently they've each liked each other occasionally.

They are still legally married, so he has to pay. Tough luck buddy. 

And there are two kids, so pony up the child support too. Should have gotten a divorce. Expensive lesson learned.

In the past, some pets have bitten their dependable care givers.

In addition to being very dangerous, because after all you never know what people will do, it is very illegal. Concealment. 

I don't know how easy it would have been, but if he got caught, he could lose everything. In the end this was the best thing to do. He should either never have gotten married or he should have divorced her right away. On the plus side, if the tables were turned and she won, he would be in the same position as her looking at collecting millions of dollars.

And vice-versa!       

Any way you look at it, his winnings equals at least 5 times what he would earn with a decent job in a life time.  Most men have to support their family earning a lot less, why should anyone fell sorry for him having to do the same with more.

That is a pretty universal headline:

"_____ wants part of _____'s lotto jackpot"

Brother
Son
Coworker
Ex-husband
Teacher
Grandfather
Brother
Fortune teller
Boss
Sister
Dog walker
Mailman...

What a complete & total tool.  What's the matter, James; can't give your legally married wife half & find a way to live on almost $8 Million?  What about your kids?  You just showed the world how utterly clueless & classless you are; you're now a pariah in the small town you live in.  What a dumbass...

Regardless of the state of their marriage he should do right by his wife and children. Instead of offering her at least  a portion of the money he chose to be be deceiptive about it. In the end it's going to bite him in the @ss and she will end up with half the money and he will be stuck paying for a high cost lawyer. If the knuckle head haves any sense he should settle out of court and give her about 5 million....that still leaves him with over 10 million after taxes. I'm sure he can get by on that. He managed to get by on far less that over the course of his life. It's like the marine who hit the jackpot and credited it to karma, there is both good and bad karma and if he chooses not to do right by his wife he will regret it in the end. What goes around comes around!

People still get married? People still separate for long periods of time without bothering with divorce? people still havent the lesson of other greedy spouses who have been caught trying to conceal lottery winning from their spouses? This guy should have just came clean, tell the wife she gets 50% as child support and alimony and not a penny more and make her sign an agreement. If she was smart, she would have happily accepted and the story wouldnt have got all this publicity. Now the lawyers will cash in, both her and husband have been outed and so the begging hands will be shoved at them everywhere they go.

Yeahhhh for the lawyers!     

Does not make any difference if he got his divorce or not law states when the game was drawn, not when ticket gets cashed in. So Now Judge will probably look at him as idiot and give her half then take child support out of husbands half.So instead of giving her half for her and kids now he will most likely get less than half.Every week or month be reminded what an idiot he is when making child support payments till kids are out of college LOL OH YEAH lets not forget paying lawyer for this dumb move..betting lawyer is happy camper, didn't even have to buy ticket yet is a winner.

NY:

Clam down<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!^^^^^^!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Do U wanna B tough?????????????????????????????????????????????

Do U wanna B mocho man ????????????????????????????????????????

give:

GULL'S A "chance">>>>>>>>>>>>>>> <!>

I can't believe he couldn't come through with a better approach to finalize the divorce without spilling the beans.He deserves to get plucked for evcerything he's worth.

I hope She gets ALL Of the MONEY.

I hope this guy ,has set up a trust for the kids,and planned giving his ex but still married wife.Because those two lawyers will milk um.I hope the guys lawyer thought of more than dollar signs when he set up the LLC.

Because the ex probably only wants a house that dosent have wheels.And not ,...have to buy her furniture at "BIG LOTS".And a couple of tickets to the the rodeo, ok and maybe a new purse ,the bowling bag is to casual.

its people like this that give players that want to remain anonymous a bad name. hope the lawyers take  every thing

The lawyers will do a great job picking them clean of everything, like scavengers they are experts at shredding and swallowing whatever they can get

their hands on. If lawyers can't take them for everything....no one can!   

It was already too late.  he had already won.  His subsequent divorce would have had absolutely no effect.  she still would have gotten half.

Littleoldlady is correct.   

We know he liked her at least "twice".  Really liked her.

Nice catch Erica - many blessings to you and your children.

 Estranged husband wins, calls wife seeking for divorce.

 Husband blabs to estranged wife, wife wants half.

 Wife gets media attention with her demand.

 Two kids involved, that is a tricky one.

  Wait a minute, wife just exposed husband to all and sundry.....

  Boy, this is going to be a good one...........FOR THE LAWYERS!

        Sits down and watches the drama unfold.....

Get paternity tested, too.

Learn the law- He can and most likely will  ask for joint or primary custody  of the kids to prevent any child support. Who's to say the courts wont allow that. Secondly just because the law "allows the right to half" doesnt mean the judge will rule that way. This is specifically for the state of Indiana. Maybe she runs up the bills and caused debts, maybe she is not the angelic mother...

If this lady can't learn to stand up and support herself...then I personally don't see why she "deserves" to mooch off his fair winning. None of us here know them so speculate til dooms day the fact is...They are headed for divorce and the judge will make the decision not any of us.

It's not the keeping anoymous part, it's the 'how do you explain $17.0 mil that pops up in your bank account?  You can try to hide it but the court can demand you show it, then your in more trouble than when you started.  His wife, with the common use of 'like' as if it were a noun, figured it out so this guy had better settle.  Seems he wanted to have his cake and lottery win too.

Finally, the judge has limited say in how the estate (that's what it is now in legal terms) is divided.  For example, if they were in a state of separation (there is no such thing as 'legal separation'-your either married or divorced in the eyes of the law) towards being divorced, that would weigh in his favor.  It he was keeping his pants on (her too) and not sleeping with her, then that would influence the case as well.  But, if he was parking in the lot when he needed a parking space, and not 'in separation' he can pretty well say good-bye to half the dough.  And, if he is sincere about his anoymous claim, he'd better settle or else divorce proceeding become public.  Either way, it'll be hard to keep it quiet now.

What worries me is that people will see this as a reason not to allow winners to claim 'with choice' and not have to claim publicly.  Everyone who has been divorced knows that part of the process is submitting tax returns, not just regular HR Block ones but returns that have been 'vetted'.   Even if he just claims interest income I'll bet that's a bit more than he was making down at the plant in Shelbyville.

I think I recall vaguely another case not long ago where I think a guy tried to hide winnings from his estranged wife and the judge wound up giving her all of it if I'm not mistaken.

Hell ain't got no fury like ex-wives who think you might not be quite as miserable as they'd like you to be.

if they like houses that can really be a problem.

Oh, they all like houses.

Divorce, Divorce, Divorce! He should have divorced her a long time ago! Dumb move on his part.  Maybe he can hire a hit man?

Based upon what we know of how this weasel tried hiding his winnings from his ex, with no indication he wanted to morally or financially support his

young children, and only then tries to convince ex for a divorce.........he's going to be on the losing end of the stick.

He made his bed, now hes got to sleep in it, along the greedy lawyers. In the court of public opinion hes already lost...........the legal court

decision will soon follow.   

Now that there is a suggestion of the most stupidest order!  Have you not followed the cases of husbands who have offed their wives? Illinois former police officer in prison!  Only mothers who kill their kids seem to get off Scott free (Casey Anthony). I would have just told her and then came to an amiable decision for a divorce settlement.  I know the smart thing would have been to get the divorce finalized BEFORE he even won, but relationships are tricky deals and him coming clean would have been the better option especially since young children are involved.  Maybe the courts would have understood his move if it were he that had custody of the kids and the woman was living irresponsibly.  But trying to cut off a woman who is raising your kids....man even I wouldn't stoop that low to try to cut her off from all the winnings.

Like everything else, its illegal if you get caught. ;) You ever drive over the speed limit?  Roll through a stop sign? 

Sometimes people are not financially able to get a divorce and decide to just separate and move on with their lives.  I have seen it several times.  That might be the case here, we don't know.  If they have been separated for a while, she might not be entitled to half his winnings. 

His best bet now would be to consult an attorney and settle out of court and give her an amount that would be more than she would get if they go to court and the judge awards her half minus the attorneys fees.

I think a reasonably sane guy would offer her 60% of the 15 Mill  to make the divorce and the mess to all go away... if she said no, then go chat with nasty evil pr*ck of an atty.....after all, why cause more stress ??  Unless you enjoy the drama and headaches 

She probably went on television to let other prospective still married winners (male or female), not to deceive others.  Karma and doing until others as..... -- certainly was not in the man's frame of mind.  What decent, moral man ignores his kids -- should have thought about that before making them, sir.

The audacity to ask his wife for a speedy divorce: what was she supposed to say, "why, yes, dear -- anything you want, dear?"  Yeah, perhaps, the 1950s -- sir, this is 2012, not your great-grandmother's generation.

Take care of your children dirtball, yes if that means giving your wife or soon to be ex-wife some money.

I hope that they reach agreement out of court ..........

What! kind of person are you to have a man who is clearly, "said by estranged wife been sleeping off and on with her to off her. The worst thing is she has kids and they happen to be his kids. you need to be ashame of yourself. But that what greed will do take people lives. That piece of sh$t  should take care his kids.I am sure the judge will make that clear.Good job wife-e.

Simba774, please cease attempting to increase business for assassins through this website!

Hey Simba,

Brilliant solution. If the situation was reversed, you'd be the one wearing those concrete shoes on your way to the bottom of a deep river.     

Any though's on that scenario?

Equal sex rights and all that stuff you know.....

60%!?!?  NO EFFING WAY!  See you in court.

I'd offer her 40% with no child support or alimony, me 50%, kids 5% each, plus, I would pay for all of their schooling.

Thats $6,360,000 for her, $7,950,000 for me and $795,000 for each kid.

hes already screwed ...... and the lawyers R gonna have a field day with this not to mention the media

ought to make for an interesting the curse of the lotto and or the lotto changed my life

Really........................

I can understand why a man (or woman) would resent giving part of his/her lottery winnings to a spouse if he/she had been living apart for a long time.  However, there should be a trust fund set up for the children.   I agree that a paternity test is a good idea, but it's always the children who suffer when 2 adults don't act responsibly.

  Why do I have the feeling that if this was the other way around people would still be on the woman's side and trashing the husband?

Funny how that works, ain't it?

It was a joke and many men have never been convicted of killing their wives. How could I forget about Drew Peterson?!  He was on tv every freakon' day! He should have legally ending that marriage way before. Now, he's wondering why he did not. Many winners have had this same problem. I never said he should not take care of the KIDS.

You're not alone.

No, I think your wrong on this one remember the woman in the UK or Canada,who had the 13 year old son that she didn't speak to on the street and wasn't giving the husband child support either.She had won millons and was going to give friends of their millions to make them millionaire.Oh! yes she got the same kind of backlashes.

So I guess the moral of this story is that "what goes around comes around"

Wimmins can be very, very evil, Louise. Even when men are very, very nice to them.

It reminds me of an old song. 

Put another log on the fire
                           
Cook me up some bacon and some beans

And go out to the car and change the tire
                                 
Wash my socks and sew my old blue jeans


Come on baby, you can fill my pipe and then go fetch my slippers
                             
And boil me up another pot of tea
                           
Then put another log on the fire, babe
                                   
And come and tell me why you're leaving me


Now don't I let you wash the car on Sunday
                                       
And don't I warn you when you're getting fat

Ain't I  gonna take you fishing with me someday
                                       
Well a man can't love a woman more than that


And ain't I always nice to your kid sister
                             
Don't I take her driving every night
                             
So sit here at my feet cause I like you when you're sweet
                               
And you know that it ain't feminine to fight

What does someone from Canada or the UK have to do with RULES governed by a state in the United States ?  Completely different countries, completely unrelated rules...after all, we are talking about A LAW that is not governed by international law. I just hope she gets the half she deserves

Why Ridge if I did know better I indeed think you were a male chauvinist with that kind of rhetoric ,song or not .Look! out there now Ridge!

In case you didn't get the phase I was answering, it was that if it was a man instead of a woman it would some how a different sentiment about the situation. I explain that there a woman in Canada ridicule also.

If this spouse's estranged husband wants a divorce, she should tell him to apply for one within Indiana.  This husband should hire a VERY experienced divorce lawyer as should this wife (since this case involves VERY significant deception via an LLC without the wife's name on it, by the husband).  The wife's lawyer should be given the name of her husband's LLC formed DURING their marriage for researching, generating subpoena to review bookkeeping, etc. 

The husband should inform his lawyer to request that the divorce court judge take the Indiana legally required 50% of the jackpot win due his wife only from the AFTER-TAXES (fed and state and county income taxes) net amount that he has only paid part of this year ... then will be paying Fed final apx. 10% of income tax in year 2013.  [Several lawyers have forgotten to do this in the past and their client's don't realize the HUGE financial mistake until sometimes several months after the divorce and decree has been finalized!  He needs a good legal eagle though, since he used deception in order to claim the jackpot amount last month ... sometimes judges punish people for using deception, so the judge could require him to pay an additional 10%+ to wife, of the net that husband's LLC received.]

Eventually this Indiana married couple will both be entirely free of the legal bond.  It will probably be a refreshing feeling for each (probably the children too, at this point).  Anyhow, I hope that each member of their immediate family will quickly enjoy, each being BIG multi-millionaires (either together or separately)!  It's not a bad sharing situation, truly.

to late,he could have avoided the whole thing,

instead greed and stupidity took over.

he provided another lesson for people that study lottery.

and another big WIN for lawyers.

This reminds me of the  Holly and Joshua Lahti case where Holly Lahti didn't want to give Josh half of her $80 million that she won after taxes in Idaho's Mega Millions game.What I hear is Holly had to give Josh half of her winnings because Holly and Josh were still married when she won. Looks like it will turn out the same way with Ericka and James.

That's what I was thinking, lol!

This story is a sad reflection on marriages.    It shows that many people stay with their spouses out of convenience, not love.   Finances play a big role, sadly because some people can't afford to get divorced and live on their own.   I know a guy who has been living with his girlfriend for 2 years.   He has no intentions of marrying this woman, but stays with her because she watches his kids (from a previous marriage) and splits the bills with him.   He admitted if he won the lottery, he'd be gone in a heart beat.    It's too bad cause she thinks he's gonna marry her one day.   One things for sure, when a stack of money is on the table, ambigious relationships clear up really fast.

Actually you are right.  Just go back to the posts of that Idaho woman who won big...and oops! She was still married to her estranged husband.  I think people tend to side with the person who has physical custody of the kids, and in the absence of kids in the relationship, the thought maybe that the woman sacrificed her body, her career, and/or her familial relationships to be with the guy and deserves to keep it all if she is the jackpot winner or at least get half if the guy is the winner.  Besides, the think, the guy can easily make more money than the lady so he won't be hurting'. Well, statistics now show women earn more than men in certain industries, and I don't think men can earn anything at a Bunny Ranch establishment unless he is the owner of the joint.  But those who know the law says it goes both ways...half to the estranged spouse regardless of situation.

Now personally, I would not consider getting a divorce since I know how to have my cake and eat it too (this saying makes no sense at all, but people use it all the time when talking about people who have extra-marital affairs, and hopefully by me pointing this out, it can die a quick death just like, "I'm just saying" (oh really!) and "At the end of the day" (last time I checked everyday has an ending, so it is not necessary to state the obvious.). 

Yes this post refers to what the guy should have done unless the peace of mind of not being with her is worth half his winnings, and also rails against pointless colloquisms.

If nothing else, the cartel certainly does stick together.

Ex-wife gets millions from lottery winner 10 years after leaving him
https://www.lotterypost.com/news/223712

Kids are a foolproof way of latching onto a man's wallet for years, long after interest in him has waned.

If "Mom" wants the wallet access kids, the courts award "Mom" the kids, unless she's a complete psycho -- and sometimes even then.

There is more to this story . Much more. The RUMOR in Shelbyville was that Indiana did not want to pay out because the winner was an ex-con. Perhaps a probation/gambling issue. The person got an attorney.

NOW, the latest is that an elderly woman won.

I didn't think if you was an ex-con , that you couldn't collect your JP. Well! here we go again with this mystery dealing with the lottery ,well if I was his wife this money would be in me and my kids hand if he can't collect it, after all half would be our anyway.The lottery wouldn't be keeping this this Jackpot.

Its getting weirder in Indiana.

There was a Mass. winner that was an ex-con bank robber and the lottery didn't want to pay because his probation terms included not gambling.Don't know what ever happened to him.

I heard one story that the Indiana lottery guy had just gotten out of prison but don't know if that is true.

The attorney for the wife has to be working on contigent basis . What if her husband was just high and made the whole story up.  This one is going to be interesting.