A man who won one of the largest lottery payments in U.S. history has filed a federal lawsuit against the mother of his child in an attempt to keep his identity concealed.

The man won a $1.35 billion Mega Millions jackpot earlier this year after purchasing a lottery ticket at a gas station in Lebanon, Maine. He has sued his child’s mother in U.S. District Court in Portland with a complaint that she violated a nondisclosure agreement by “directly or indirectly disclosing protected subject matter” about his winnings, court papers state.

The court papers state that the defendant in the case disclosed the information to the winner’s father and stepmother. Both the winner and the defendant in the case are identified only by pseudonyms.

  • bruce_willass@lemmy.world
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    1 year ago

    I’ve read the famous lottery post enough times to know the major bullet points to follow after winning (not that I’ll ever win, because I don’t play the lottery):

    1. Don’t tell anyone.
    2. Go to your nearest big city and hire a partnered lawyer in trust & estates from one of the big national law firms. Look them up on martindale.com, apparently.
    3. Decide how you want to split your winnings and have your new lawyer handle the distribution.
    4. Yada yada, typical personal finance investing advice (good to follow even without a lottery).
    5. Live off the returns/interests earned.
      • Flying Squid@lemmy.world
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        1 year ago

        So you’ll be taking the smaller lump sum rather than the larger amount paid out in installments?

          • finthechat@kbin.social
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            1 year ago

            You are missing the joke here, because if I do (2. Die) then I won’t be getting the payment installments

        • Case@lemmynsfw.com
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          1 year ago

          I briefly worked at a convienice store that sold lotto tickets, and people should be aware that the default is the smaller lump sum. The operators have to change a couple things when they get the ticket made.

          However most people do a random “quick pick” over filling out the associated forms to select individual numbers, pay out type, etc.

          That being said, mathematically if you do win, and take the lump sum and invest it positively, it can out “earn” the staggered payments, resulting in more money.

          However, the mathematically inclined rarely play lottery type games, I mean they give you the odds on the ticket.

          You’re more likely to be hit by lightning on a clear day than winning the jackpot.

          But hey, a couple bucks, some wishful thinking, and its cheap entertainment for a short while imagining what to do with the winnings.

          I realize the odds are totally stacked against me, but when it gets to 1b I’ll buy a ticket, just on the off chance, lol.

      • Nougat@kbin.social
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        1 year ago

        You can do that now, without playing or winning the lottery.

        @snaptastic Please notify me if this comment does not satisfy your relevancy requirements.

        • Flying Squid@lemmy.world
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          1 year ago

          Especially when you pair them with blackjack. Then when you make enough money, you can open a theme park.

    • colorsoloud@lemmy.world
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      1 year ago

      In this case, I assume he was attempting to follow that advice except he had to tell the mother of his child for child support reasons. He did have her sign an NDA, she’s the one who told.

    • FuglyDuck@lemmy.world
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      1 year ago

      Also maintain physical control of the ticket, maybe consider a bank safety deposit box. And if privacy is a concern create an LLC to claim it under, since many (most) states require public disclosure of who wins (possibly including the news broadcast with a Big Check. If you trust them you’re new best friend- the asset protection lawyer you got referred to by the afore mentioned estate lawyer can claim it on the llc’s behalf.)

    • Flying Squid@lemmy.world
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      1 year ago

      That all sounds like sound financial advice.

      How many people who play the lottery pay attention to sound financial advice?