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Boredandtiredbroke t1_j9z5ngq wrote

Reply to comment by jpc1215 in California Lottery stands behind $2 billion Powerball winner despite claim ticket was stolen by ILikeTalkn2Myself

Total any utter fear knowing the country knows my name and possibly my face. Friends, family, neighbors start coming at you. Perhaps previous romantic partners come out and claim abuse and try to sue you. I dunno I'd be paranoid as fuck.

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jpc1215 t1_j9z7f6k wrote

For real. It’s gotta be a blessing and a curse. I’ve read some pretty interesting stories from former lottery winners - it’s not all sunshine and rainbows for sure.

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neo_sporin t1_j9za3si wrote

Honestly if I ever won something like that. I’d try to work with lawyers to hide it, or find a legal way to have someone claim and take like 1 million payment just to have their name attached to it

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Morat20 t1_ja0jsh5 wrote

If you ever win more than, say, a million? Go to the biggest city in your state, pick the biggest fucking law firm, and tell them you need their help to handle a sudden windfall.

They'll help you build a trust, and claim the ticket on behalf of the trust. So the winner will be the trust. They'll also file all the appropriate legal documents and affidavits claiming you are eligible to win.

Even if the State insists on speaking to the trustee (you!) and verifying it themselves, the winner will go down as -- and be publicized as the trust. And your big firm lawyer will be the one whose photo is on the wall under something like "50 million winner! 'FYIGM Trust"

It's worth the money not just because of keeping anonymity, but they'll help you find an accountant and tax attorney to structure how you get your winnings, and you can also keep a bunch of it safe from yourself -- and others.

Stick 80%+ into a trust where you can't touch the principal at all (or doing so is a huge, time-consuming process to prevent yourself from impulsive moves or manipulation) means when someone DOES work out you're rich, tough shit. You can't touch it.

You just have that 20% and the passive income.

(25m, for instance, in a trust is about 500k a year conservatively after taxes in passive income -- that's about 2.5%, minus taxes. 500k a fucking year after taxes is a lot of goddamn money, especially since you're likely debt free as well. Like 40k a month is fucking insane money)

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QubitBob t1_j9zj8fk wrote

Some states allow the winners to remain anonymous. My state--Pennsylvania--does not, but winners of large Powerball jackpots have been able to claim prizes anonymously using what are called a trust. In these cases the lawyers representing the winner claim the prize for the trust. So it involves some red tape and legal fees, but I would go that route to keep my name from going public.

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ThatDarnScat t1_ja0bulr wrote

I could change my name, family, AND face for waayyy less than $2 Billions..

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