You just won a huge lottery jackpot! Now what?

https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/here’s-what-to-do-if-you-win-the-dollar16-billion-mega-millions-jackpot/ar-BBOMWuf?ocid=spartandhp

#9 Hoe Lee Crap........ 

Haha! The very last thing I'd want to do is tell a complete stranger my personal "feelings", not to mention that that stranger has the power to have me sent away to the funny farm if I say the wrong combination of words! At any rate, all I'd be able to say for the 1st couple months after winning the jackpot would be "WooHoo! WooHoo! WooHoo!" and dance around like your "Barbara Streisand" video

No joke.  Susan Bradley has one on staff.  https://www.suddenmoney.com/about-smi-faculty

the consensus in our group is that it doesn't matter who hits the lottery (its not a group buy), we will pay someone X amount to claim the ticket, after having a lawyer(s) draft documentation. The person who claims the ticket can do the the public crap if need be (in Michigan), but they would simply say, "I didn't really win, I'm just claiming the ticket."

One thing I know for sure is there is a way to get around taxes, legally, you just need to know the right professionals. You will pay something, but you can decrease that amount for you and all of the people you wish to give money to if you can hire the right folks. I pan on finding those folks, even if I have to wait months to claim my ticket. Tell Donald Trump's tax guys to contact me lol.

I'd like to do random acts of kindness. Maybe show up to a court in a city (the largest city) and pay everyone's tickets that comes in that day. Don't even tell the customers what happened, just tell them that they don't anything and provide them with the documentation that shows their $0 balance. My team and I will be in the back paying the tickets as the they come. I'd like to donate to fire departments, after school programs, etc... Just small donations, but hopefully things that make a difference. Maybe pay crews to fix up parks, pay college tuition for students who received higher than a 3.0 gpa the last few semesters, etc...

There are ways to get around paying some of the taxes, for example giving it all to charity, or putting all or most of it into a charitable trust. You made a joke about The Donald's tax accountant, but he's a real estate guy, and real estate is extremely tax friendly. Most (or Much) of the rental income is tax-free because of depreciation. There are also a multitude of clever ways to structure leverage. For example, you can buy an apartment building, improve it (raise the rents), then turn around and refinance the entire deal based on the new value. After you pay off the original leverage (which would happen upon closing the new loan) and paying the early payoff penalty, the remainder of the cash is yours to keep, tax free (a non-taxable event.) You could also sell the apartment building and roll all of your profit into a 1039 exchange, and as long as you use that profit to buy a bigger better apartment deal, the tax is deferred indefinitely (until you finally sell out of your last deal, or die. Then, I suppose, your estate would owe the deferred taxes.) So, Trump does pay every cent of his taxes, he's just in an extremely tax friendly business.

AMEN ........that was a good video

"we will pay someone X amount to claim the ticket"

What does that mean? You'll pay them to show up on your behalf and tell everyone your name, because maybe that will keep the lottery from posting your picture? Or do you plan to give a gift of over $900 million in the form of a winning ticket and expect that person to then give you a gift f over $900 million in cash?

Either way, it's not going to work the way I think you want it to.

I worked for a family who would PAY CASH for run down, poorly managed apartment buildings so they could get great deals, we would rehab, reposition the properties and raise the rents.  They would then refi and get all of their money back PLUS SOME, rinse and repeat.  Total CASH COW!!!  MOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!

Absolutely! It is probably the best way to make a real fortune in a short period of time. Plus, while you're waiting for the reno to be completed, you're getting rent checks on the other units!

Speaking of apartments.....look where I would invest the BULK of my winnings if I were so fortunate to win!  This is owning everything outright, no financing.  The numbers would be more staggering if you were leveraged with debt. 

dpoly1,

If the lady that you helped wins I hop it doesn't prove the old adage about 'no good deed goes unpunished'

lowellm,

Don't hire 'tax expert' Irwin Schiff

idontplay313

That's called 'sending in a beard'

I hope whoever you designate doesn't already have a plane ticket for Geneva.

Yes, we would immediately RAISE rents even on the non-upgraded units and quickly evict non-payers and trouble makers.  We wanted turn over so we could reposition with higher paying tenants.  These were B, C and D class units catering to the working class.

"but if you won tonight's behemoth of a jackpot there would be no end to the media interest."

Lots of people are suggesting "wait to validate the ticket", "get you ducks in a row", "hire a financial planner", "take the payments" and several other things. The problem is, winning a jackpot is not "one size fits all" so it's really about personal preferences. IMO, the longer the winner wait, the more media scrutiny of the winner. Which may include paying a clerk to view the security tapes.

It might take six week after validating the ticket to get all the money and I've always wondered how someone without their ducks lined up now, how could they line them up without at least some of the jackpot money. Most people have no clue how to invest their money and is it really necessary to talk to a planner before validating the ticket?

Today the real "dog and pony" show were the people buying tickets that never played before. Saw a guy calling out the numbers he wanted to play. When he asked for "82", the clerk told him to fill out a play slip, he looked like a deer in the headlights. There was on the counter "Cash only for lottery tickets" and when I said to the clerk, "I thought everyone knew that", she said most of the players never played before.

Based on what I saw today, one winner, the first ticket they ever bought, and they will hold a world class dog and pony show.

Good luck!

DANG BuyLow!  You really think you are going to win tonight huh?  WOW!

That is exactly the right way to do it, and the ideal "class" of folks to rent to. Also, with this economy and jobs figures the wages will start to go up. When wages go up, so do rents.