Claiming the money
Marie was so ecstatic to have won that she froze in disbelief. She had six months to claim the prize.
Marie had two options: she could either claim the prize as $188 million in installments paid over 30 years, which would come to about $530,000 a year. Or, she could take the entirety of the $127 million winnings all at once (taxes taken out, of course). Marie chose the lump sum and believed that her troubles were over–but little did she know they were only just beginning.