Lottery winner demonstrates the right way to claim a big jackpot

And other states have "Make My Day" laws aka Stand Your Ground where a person is not required to flee but may inflict bodily harm up and to and including death in order to protect persons or even just property in some states

Look it up at Wikipedia, I'm using a browser that won't allow me to paste links. 

JWBlue - I also thought about that statement.  People are very litigious so who knows what someone might think up after finding out she won all that money?  She's a pharmacist, so I assume she has insurance anyway. But I can just see a pregnant woman in court insisting she didn't know the birth control pills she was prescribed are to be taken by mouth.  "Yes, I wore that diaphragm every night.  It looked strange and didn't quite fit my big toe, but I thought I was protected."

The GameGrl writes: "......The greatest flaw she has seen by folks with money is entrusting a group of advisors to handle the money and ensuring persons they are secure. Most stars who have filed bankruptcy did so because they allowed a team of experts to handle their funds, and skim in the process."

I couldn't agree with you more!  There used to be a commercial slogan "Thank you Paine Weber."  Several years ago I personally changed that to "F-you, Paine Weber."  It's important to watch over your investments and stay up-to-date on market conditions, not only to ensure that others are honest, but that they are also competent.

Lilly & Coin Toss - We're the Old Wild West here in Florida.  Shoot now, ask later.  I'm not sure if it passed, but I remember when Jeb Bush wanted to change the law that requires a person to walk away from a conflict whenever possible to allow using deadly force when one feels threatened.

In some states you have up to 3 months to decide how you want to claim your jackpot,annuity or cash option.Thats probably where you got the 3 month figure.

Probably the type of lawsuits where they hope the defendant will offer them a settlement that is less than the cost of going to court. It sounded like a frivolous lawsuit when that woman put a hot cup of coffee between her legs while driving her car so she could answer her cell phone, but look at what she got. 

It said "some taxes" and the limited partnership was formed before they cashed the ticket. If Uncle Fred had a 1% share, he might not have to pay a gift tax.

   WTG!!

When the woman who won the $91 million while still living at the Econo Lodge was on Oprah, she was told on camera  (by Oprah) "Don't let anyone sign your checks but you.  I took that to mean that she should have the final say on anything regarding her money....period."

But she still should have someone helping her....Yes, Oprah does sign her checks...and nothing gets done without her permission..............but she STILL has advisors.

I don't recall ever seeing anything that said that the funds are earning interest that will increase the amount paid to the winner when they get around to claiming it. The Ohio lottery website has some detailed info on the cash amount here:
     http://www.ohiolottery.com/howtoplay.stm
At least with MM, the annuity appears to be purchased immediately, and the cash value comes from the sale of the securities that have been purchased. The site linked specifically says that the risk of loss in value lies with the winner. The cash value of government securities depends on interest rates. If interest rates go up before the securities are sold, their cash value will go down. OTOH, if rates go down the value will go up.

What really happens depends on timing, and how much rates change. Since the fed just reported a 3/4 point reduction, the cash value of securities purchased just before the cut could potentially increase substantially. More typically, interest rates won't change rapidly, and therefore the value won't change. Still, a minor loss of value while making plans could be insignificant compared to the possible risk of rushing ahead with poor planning.

"Most stars who have filed bankruptcy did so because they allowed a team of experts to handle their funds, and skim in the process."

There's no question that people with money are often taken advantage of by those with access, but what really matters is the likelihood of that happening. If 90% of people with money have advisors then 90% of people who had money and file for bankruptcy have advisors, but that doesn't mean that a lot of people with advisors are victimized. Most rich people have ups and downs, but few suffer major losses. Having advisors is a major benefit to virtually anyone who doesn't already have the knowledge and skill to do it themselves. Your chances of being victimized are largely related to your personal involvement. If you don't pay attention to what's going on, you won't know about problems until they're really big problems.

Here's a statistic that's far more useful than how many celebrities have  been vistimized by their advisors: Nearly 100% of lottery winners who went bankrupt either didn't have advisors or didn't listen to the advice they were given.

I'd love to see a legitimate reference to a law in a single state that says you have to flee so as not to harm an intruder. Self defense laws in some states do prohibit the use of deadly force when you can safely avoid danger by fleeing, but that's very different than your claim. Some states allow deadly force almost any time there is an intruder in your home, while others only allow deadly force when you have a legitimate reason to believe that you are in danger and must use deadly force to protect yourself. There is no state that prohibits deadly force when it is necessary to defend yourself from severe or mortal danger.