Anonymity to avoid lawsuits - frivolous and otherwise

Reply #19

randommusings — Mon, 09 Mar 2009 17:36:47 GMT

I would be concerned over the safety of my kids. Plus, i like to fly under the radar, anyways....so the less personal info and pictures of me out there, the better

Reply #18

DC81 — Sun, 01 Mar 2009 17:05:52 GMT

Well, with Jack many of his problems were problems he himself created from his own stupidity and personality. He doesn't even have the ignorance defense with coming into sudden money since he was already a millionaire at the time. IMO he was just a good ol'boy who let his lottery win accelerate problems he already had. He was from W.Virginia but that wasn't the lottery he won, he won what was at the time, the biggest jackpot in lottery history with a $315M Powerball win.

Top it off, after... [ More ]

Reply #17

The Texan — Tue, 24 Feb 2009 15:08:44 GMT

Yes definately. There was an article I read about Jack Whittaker, who won the W. Virginia lottery in 2002. He had his car broken into, was drugged, had people just hunt him down asking for money....no thanks.

I would much rather create a trust, have my attorney attend the new conference and relay my feelings and intentions and then I bank it all and live very quietly, but definitely pay off the mortgage and swap out the old Buick for a nice Honda or something.

Publicity when you

Reply #16

SmoothJuice — Mon, 23 Feb 2009 23:07:04 GMT

If I won, I would remain anonymous the best of my ability. I would drive a normal car, buy a normal house, normal clothing and normal life. I don't want to look rich because the lottery jackpot is money I didn't earn.

If I were a millionaire and I earned my money by doing business and hard work, then I would look wealthy and rich so I could tell others that I worked hard for my money.

Reply #15

MaddMike51 — Wed, 18 Feb 2009 15:42:42 GMT

BaristaExpress,I tried that but the record club in Indiana was to stupid to get the hint.The publishing company in New York doesn't send you a prepaid envelope.So I just write deceased on the envelope and send it back.Nobody wants to send junkmail to a dead person.

Reply #14

BaristaExpress — Wed, 18 Feb 2009 11:34:44 GMT

Hey Mike, put anything you get with a pre-paid envelope in that envelope and send it back to them! Let them pay for getting their junk mail back and they will almost stop sending you their junk mail! I have been doing it for years and my junk mail has almost come to a complete stop from the credit card companies and the Columbia house type clubs! And Mike, some companies just don't get it and keep sending you their junk anyway and I keep sending it all back to them in their pre-paid envelope... [ More ]

Reply #13

myturn — Wed, 18 Feb 2009 04:51:27 GMT

I would wish to remain anonymous for the simple reason, I would not want to be treated differently for before. At every conversation people would say, well, you can afford it . I can imagine that would get very tiring. I don't talk about my income, or ask others about their incomes, so why talk about additional income from a lottery win

Reply #12

MaddMike51 — Tue, 17 Feb 2009 15:10:48 GMT

No,no trash cans here.I used to have a spare room where I stashed the junk mail.My insurance man stopped by one day and raised my rates because that room qualified as a fire hazard.I was forced to write deceased on the front of all that junk mail and send it back where it originated from.My insurance rates went back down.But I got writers cramp in my right hand.Now I get very little junk mail from that publishing house in New York and that record club in Terre Haute,Indiana.Not to mention all of... [ More ]

Reply #11

grengrad — Tue, 17 Feb 2009 14:29:04 GMT

Don't you guys have trash cans

Reply #10

MaddMike51 — Tue, 17 Feb 2009 00:21:39 GMT

I write deceased on junk mail.I have to take it the Post office drive-thru because the mailman won't pick up the junkmail from my mailbox.

Reply #9

justxploring — Mon, 16 Feb 2009 23:29:15 GMT

Coin Toss, is this really true? I mean, that's like addressing a letter to Santa Claus. Does the USPS have to deliver all of that mail too?

When I receive mail addressed to Resident I just write on the envelope He doesn't live here any more. Please forward.

Reply #8

Coin Toss — Mon, 16 Feb 2009 23:05:47 GMT

I'd prefer to remain anonymous so as not to hear from the 675,000 cousins that surface when someone wins a jackpot.

David Lee Edwards, famous for saying, You can't fix stupid - who won a jackpot, bought a home in Florida and lost it because he stopped paying his association fees, said when he won he was getting sacks of mail everyday addressed to Lottery winner and asked the post office to stop delivering it. They said they had to because they knew where he lived and who it was intended for.... [ More ]

Reply #7

time*treat — Mon, 16 Feb 2009 22:33:09 GMT

There are too many people in the world who are both stupid and greedy. That combination makes them dangerous.

Reply #6

grengrad — Mon, 16 Feb 2009 15:25:09 GMT

Winning makes you a public target, which would.

1. Make me question whether new friends or relationships were really about me or the money I won.

2. Put my friends and family in danger.

3. Make me a target for beggars and scammers.

Reply #5

KY Floyd — Mon, 16 Feb 2009 06:55:03 GMT

The reason to be anonymous is to reduce the number of people who ask for money. It's very unlikely to make a difference in the number of frivoulous lawsuits that might come your way. Knowing you have money could make you a more attractive target, but it's your actions that make you a target in the first place. Even Jack Whittaker only managed to be sued by a few people, and he seems to have been very good at making himself a target. That makes me think I'd have very little to worry about.

Wha... [ More ]

Reply #4

ThatScaryChick — Mon, 16 Feb 2009 06:47:45 GMT

I would rather remain anonymous not because I fear a lawsuit, but because I just don't want the extra attention.

Reply #3

diamondpalace — Mon, 16 Feb 2009 04:13:47 GMT

For safety of my family and myself. Fame is overrated.

Reply #2

iGlenn — Mon, 16 Feb 2009 01:42:28 GMT

I'm an introvert and have no desire for fame or attention. I buy my tickets in Delaware so it wouldn't be a problem for me to stay anonymous.

Reply #1

justxploring — Sun, 15 Feb 2009 23:38:44 GMT

I've done more than one stupid thing in my life. However, the main reason I wouldn't want my name or photo in the news is for safety purposes.

Anonymity to avoid lawsuits - frivolous and otherwise

frbl — Sun, 15 Feb 2009 21:45:03 GMT

We have all done something stupid in our lives for which others would like to get some revenge - jilted lovers/spouses, friendships ended badly, bad bets, business deals gone bad, etc.

Of course, some people might threaten to sue you for simply looking at them funny - and now you have money and are a clear target.

Would you want to claim a major jackpot anonymously primarily because you fear a lawsuit or two or three (hundred!)?? Jack Whittaker was a target for sure - deserving or not.