DANBURY, Conn. — On the day that Donald Peters died, he unknowingly provided financial security for his wife of 59 years and their family.
Peters bought two Connecticut Lottery tickets at a local 7-Eleven store on Nov. 1 as part of a 20-year tradition he shared with his wife Charlotte. Later that day, the 79-year-old retired hat factory worker suffered a fatal heart attack while working in his yard in Danbury.
On Friday, his widow cashed in one of the tickets: a $10 million winner which, in her grief over her husband's death, she had put aside and almost discarded before recently checking the numbers.
"I'm numb," Charlotte Peters, 78, said at Connecticut Lottery headquarters in Rocky Hill.
Donald Peters usually bought the tickets for 10 weeks at a stretch, so the winning ticket he bought Nov. 1 for the Dec. 2 drawing was among several that Charlotte Peters put aside as she, their three children and two grandchildren coped with his sudden death.
"I was in the grocery store and I had it checked and they told me I was a winner," she said. "I had no idea how much it was."
She said she thought she had won $6 million but was surprised to learn from lottery officials she'd won $10 million.
Charlotte Peters has 60 days to decide whether to take a $6 million pre-tax lump sum payment or stretch the winnings into 21 yearly payments of almost $477,300 each.
She does not yet know what she will do with the money.
"I've always wanted a Corvette, but I don't think I'll buy one. I'll stick to a small car. I might go to Mohegan Sun," she said, referring to the casino in Connecticut. "I'm going to go home and sit and think."
The Peters children think their father would have appreciated the irony.
"He'd be very mad, he just passed away and she won a lot of money," said Brian Peters, one of the couple's three children. "He'd say, 'Figures!'"
Thanks to iGlenn for the tip. Thanks also to the many others who recommended it.
That is exactly what I would say "Figures!".
I can't count the number of times I've stopped playing a P4 number and BAM it hits the next draw! I add an explicative in front of "figures."
What a untimely stroke of luck for this family, I hope they fair well.
$5 sez she buys the corvette convertible inside of a year
Alanis' song wasn't so far-fetched after all.
http://www.azlyrics.com/lyrics/alanismorissette/ironic.html
My condolences to the widow and her family. Imagine if she had not checked her ticket and thrown it away?
Amazing story. It must have been a huge shock to find out that one of the tickets that your dead husband had bought turned out to be a bug winner.
Good song, Hearsetrax!
Well, at least this woman has good taste in automobiles. I don't understand why she didn't ask one of her children to claim it, however. Sure she might live 10 or more years, maybe even to 100, but there will be a lot of estate taxes to pay when she dies, unless the laws change. If she takes it in 21 annual payments and dies, it will be even worse for the family. The IRS doesn't care if you inherit a structured annuity from a lottery prize. You still have to pay tax on the estimated value of the inheritance. Think you have 9 months after the death.
I wonder if Alanis has read this story!
these stories always give me hope...it said he had been playing for 20 years. I have been playing for just under 5. I can always hope in 15 more years it will be my turn to win!
You can bet if one of her children had collected the winnings, the other two would be mad and she wouldn't be able to think about wanting a Corvette or a trip to the local casino. She's better off claiming it herself and seeking the advice of a good tax lawyer to reduce the taxes her relatives will have to pay after she joins her husband.
RJOh, guess it depends on the family. A few years ago a man won $40 million in FL and gave the ticket to one of his daughters. He said she had a good head on her shoulders and he trusted her to make the right decision. I think he had 4 children and I had the same attitude as you. She was in college and opted for the 30 annual payments.
Not a lot of people realize that the IRS will tax a person's beneficiaries on the lump sum even if there are annual payments. Some people have sued the IRS. I wasn't aware of this IRS rule until I read a post on LP a couple of years ago. Then I did some research which is why I know about the court hearings when the IRS demanded the families pay tax on the estimated annuity value, even though they hadn't yet received the money.
Very good story indeed.
Inheritence Tax is unreasonable.
If I had a mansion, after passing it to my heirs a few times, the mansion's value would be deemed to be worthless to my descendants. They would have to pay tax on the mansion. No wonder many nobles in European Nations could not keep their castles. Eventually they had to donote to the government.
I wonder why don't they tax the White House after each term. I am sure they can collect good money on its current value.
It could happen, I have lottery subscriptions and if I died my subscriptions could still win. At least people would remember while the money lasts.
personally I'm kinda suprised she just didn't take the money and leave note on the door to the kids