Man divorces wife before claiming lotto prize

[GirlieGirl]

TALLAHASSEE, Florida (AP) -- It took Robert G. Swofford Jr. more than a month to come forward and claim his $60 million Lotto prize, but he had to take care of some unfinished business -- divorcing his wife.

Swofford, a postal worker from Seminole County, claimed his prize Tuesday in a $34.7 million lump sum payout, ending weeks of mystery about who won the November 24 drawing.

Swofford, 53, and his wife separated three years ago. But two weeks after the winning numbers were announced, Ann Swofford served him with divorce papers and claimed a share of the prize.

Just before Christmas, the Swoffords and their lawyers hammered out an agreement. His wife will get $5.25 million and $1 million will be set aside to support their 11-year-old son. In return, she agreed not to seek any more of Swofford's winnings.

Swofford said he remembered reading about a divorce case where a lottery winner kept it a secret and was penalized in court.

"I'd heard of a case in California where a judge heard about it after he had settled the divorce case and took the husband to the cleaners and made him pay everything he had left out of his lottery winnings," Swofford said Tuesday.

Feel a mixture of "I can't believe it" and "how sad."

And I don't see why the wife settled for $5 mill. I doubt he would've not claimed it. She could have held out for half.

 

[Jenna]

I guess I just look at it differently. I don't know why they were separated, or why the wife filed for divorce. So, I'm not apt to think that she is automatically entitled to a certain amount of property or money. *shrugs* Then again, I'm not a supporter of "no-fault" divorce either.

 

[HeatherJay]

Sounds like from your article SHE divorced HIM, not the other way around...

 

[GirlieGirl]

Oh I think you're right. I read through that too fast.

 

[Andry]

She may have had a legal right to claim some of the winnings, but what about morally?

If I was separated from my wife for three years..... why should I expect to have any of her windfall - be they from a lotto, a great career move, an inheritance, etc? I wouldn't. If there is a child involved, both parents are still responsible for that child, rich or poor.

 

[GirlieGirl]

There's a lot of moral issues in this situation. The most important one in my mind would be the ground for divorce. The moral issue about if she should get half versus a sixth is pretty low on the scale in my mind.

This is, after all, the the way the world wants it with marriage. They want to leave their spouses at whim and just halve eveything down the middle. So if you're going to play those rules, why not hold out for half?

 

[Andy Broadley]

The moral of the story is once again that the love of money is the root of all evil.

 

[HeatherJay]

It's unfair to make assumptions without all the facts. Maybe he was unfaithful, maybe he beat her, maybe she was unfaithful...who knows?

The only problem I have (without further information about their seperation) is the fact that out of 34 million, only 1 million was alotted to the child. I find that really sad. But who knows how the whole story is being spun by the media.