CONCORD, N.H. — Lawyers for a New Hampshire family claimed a $487 million Powerball jackpot on their behalf Monday, saying the winners wished to remain anonymous but would do "great things" with their newfound wealth.
Attorneys for the family's new trust claimed the prize at a news conference after weeks of suspense about the identity of the winner of the nation's eighth-largest lottery jackpot. The winning ticket for the July 30 drawing was sold at a Hannaford supermarket in Raymond, a town of about 10,000 residents.
Lottery officials announced Monday that the family is local to New Hampshire and wished to keep their identities a secret. Officials offered no other details on them.
The final payout after taxes is $256 million, and the money will be placed in a trust. Attorneys for the family announced $100,000 in donations to charity Monday and said the family plans to donate more. They were not specific about how much money would go to charity or whether all the donations would be announced publicly.
"There couldn't have been two better people or a better family to win this money," attorney William Shaheen said. "They're going to do great things with it."
Shaheen said the family has been carefully deliberating how to use the money.
Whether a lottery winner can remain anonymous depends on where they live. Delaware, Kansas, Maryland, North Dakota, Ohio and South Carolina allow winners to remain anonymous. In 2014, Democratic New Hampshire Gov. Maggie Hassan vetoed a bill that would have prohibited the state from disclosing lottery winners' names without consent.
But New Hampshire, like a handful of other states, lets winners claim the prize through trusts. By disclosing the name of the trust only, they can shield their identities. Connecticut, Massachusetts, Vermont and Colorado also allow this.
The New Hampshire family's $100,000 donation matched a donation made by Hannaford. The store donated its $75,000 commission for selling the ticket, plus an additional $25,000.
The $100,000 from the lottery winners will go to End 68 Hours of Hunger, four food pantries in Raymond, Epping and Deerfield, and the Raymond Coalition for Youth, an organization that works with the police department and focuses on youth substance abuse prevention.
Representatives from the organizations praised the anonymous family for their donations.
"They're so community minded," said Celeste Clark of the Raymond Coalition for Youth. "That's just wonderful."
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Congrats to this family. I'm happy they took their time claiming the winnings the right way. Good luck to them.
Congrats on the win.
Sounds like they have their heads on straight and plan to do a lot of good with the money.
Good for them. some of the lottery winners actually doing their homework and looking to see what they're going to do which is a good thing.
Some of the lottery winners are dumb.
Just imagine what you could do with $256 million dollars. Family comes first. Then investments. Then Charity will be supported by the earnings from the investments. Conserve the principal.
Brad Duke helped his family before he invested his principal.
I understand that some lottery players are not close to their family. You can follow Warren Buffet's rules.
Congratulations to the NH Family also THANK YOU for wanting to do GREAT things!
Whether a lottery winner can remain anonymous depends on where they live. Delaware, Kansas, Maryland, North Dakota, Ohio and South Carolina allow winners to remain anonymous.
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No , Ohio does not let you remain anonymous
congrats to the family. I hope they really can do great things!
Congrats to them. Living in Maryland, its the same way I intend to handle me winning a jackpot one day. I could care less for fame, notoriety, popularity, and the like. Family. Investments. Charity. Thats my agenda!
Anybody know which states allow trusts?
In the article it lists NH, MA, CT, VT, CO as states that allow anonymity through trusts. I have also seen news reports of winners from IN, TN, and TX claim the prize this way.
In FL, I believe you can claim in a trust, but they still release your name and city.
Ohio allows lottery winners to remain anonymous if you form a trust to claim the prize.
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Mr. Rundown99,
Forgive me, but I need to 'correct' what you wrote in the blue text.
You had said to the effect that the only one you should marry, is the one that's truly in love with you.
I'm afraid the better advice would be "to marry only the one that not only knows about your jackpot win,
but agrees to an agreement, that they are entitled, essentially to nothing, in the event of separation.
Mr. Groppo
Doesn't sound like you have ever been in love. Perhaps moving from one relationship to another with no solid commitment or vision that included the opposite sex. So correct me if I am wrong, but you Mr G get married, you decide after many years you going to throw your wife under the bus because the woman you presently seeing has a superb rack that dwarfs the Mrs? So all that time that the Mrs had with you must account for nothing & she should leave with the present clothes on her back? What planet did you say you came from?
They better avoid doing too many great things or they will be broke in ten years time.
Even a prenuptial agreement will take care of the needs of the party you are divorcing. That is why both parties will need their own lawyer and get the agreement finalized at least one year before the wedding.
Divorce will turn the marriage into a business entity.
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Mr./Ms. Noise-Gate,
Nowhere in my reply did I mention to not leave the previous Mrs., 'anything'.
Of course, any feeling human being would leave their loved ones something.
I meant for the "ex" to not expect (and ideally demand) anything.
So, for example, if I won $300 million samolians, I think my wife (and this is just fantasy land, you understand)
would be good for $2 million cash. And, I would even assume the taxes, since it would be considered a "gift".
Plus, in my final will, who knows?
But this was under the assumption that the lotto winner (I hope me), had yet to be married.
I like the "throw under the bus" part. (But it comes too early, anyway. The y8, I think, for down-town.)
(Vvrrrrrrooooom - 1st gear changes to 2nd Vvrrrrrrrrrrrrooooooooooommmmm - SCccccccrrrrrrrccch - SPLAT!
Y8, Right on time! ! ! ! )
Mr. Groppo
Mr. Wizard Groppo, Will they be Magical Unicorns and Rainbow Butterflies in your BEE-UTiFul Fantasy.
If You're not already Married and have your SOUL MATE, I would say don't get married! I've been their done that and it's only cost me everything I've ever had, Physically, Mentally & everything I worked so Hard in life to Achieve, I was the Punching Bag, Kick Boxing wall (@5'7", 112lbs, vs 6'2",210lbs) & Bread winner, if I had all the Money though the years I PD all the bill's with, I'm talking about every bill, house pymts, new vehicles, Ins., food, kids clothes, utilities, vacations, Etc, I wouldn't need to Win the LOTTERY! We've started from scratch with only the clothes on our backs twice, it's not easy! I PROMISE ONE THING WE WILL NEVER DO THAT AGAIN, The only way too insure that is to never let anyone close enough to do that too Me & My Son again!
CONGRATS TO THE WINNERS, ENJOY WHAT YOU HAVE AND MANY BLESSINGS TO YOU ALL
Sorry to hear of your misfortune.
Some states have common law marriage that after I believe here is seven years, so you've got to be careful with that too.
It's wonderful to be in a position to do great things but I hope they have put aside a good amount to take care of their own family. Some people may get caught up in trying to save the world and enhance their community that they would soon find themselves depleted of all their funds.
OH Groppo, your explanation is hilarious. You did say that she should receive nothing..remember? What got me laughing was recalling a nature channel program l was watching last night. It was a fight between a mongoose & a cobra. The cobra kept swaying back & forth in an attempt to confuse the mongoose but lost the battle in the end. That swaying reminded me of your avatar with it's tail going back and forth. Attempting to confuse us..Perhaps.
Peace- nonetheless.
Woot! Woot! Congrats to the winners!
It was indicated that the winners intend to be very generous and community minded in sharing their great fortune. As an example of this, we are told that they have made $100,000 in donations; this represents .04% of $256 million- not 4%, not 1%, not even 1/2 of a percent, but .04%. Hardly seems generous to me. Hannaford donated the entirety of their $75,000 commission plus an additional $25,000; now that's generous and I would hazard a guess that the store hasn't made $256 million in their years of operation at the selling location. I don't care what the winners do with their money and any donation is meaningful but when such a large point is made as to how wonderful and generous they will be to others some scrutiny as to their actions is warranted.
Congrats to the New Hampshire Powerball winners if they're putting all they're winnings in a Trust. Is a Trust like a special bank and does it control how much they can withdraw or spend the money? I wonder because I heard the Acosta folks from the 1/3 billion Powerball did the same thing.
I understand what you are saying. But the reality is that if someone only wants to marry the lottery winner because of the lottery money, then he or she will probably try to make the lottery winner feel guilty if the lottery winner asks for any prenuptial agreement.
This is what I think about all of this:
I look at this in terms of three possible scenarios:
1. If you are married when you win the jackpot, then you should stay married to that person.
2. If you are engaged or in a serious long-term relationship with someone when you win the jackpot, then you should marry that person.
3. If you are totally single and unattached (never married, divorced, or widowed) and not in any serious or long-term relationship with anyone at the time you win the jackpot, then you should stay single.
Any winner in any state can claim the money with a trust, or an LLC for that matter. However, in most states the name of the possessor of the ticket must release his or her identity. In addition, a lot of these states, such as my state of Virginia, require a press conference. For asset protection purposes alone I'd consider myself insane if I didn't make trusts and LLCs a priority when claiming a jackpot this size. It increases the difficulties about a hundred fold for any leach from the past trying to use the legal system to mooch.
Enter Trusts in Lottery Post Search Box. Use YouTube.com