Signing your ticket?

Reply #9

MADDOG10 — Sun, 09 Apr 2006 12:24:28 GMT

Reply #8

paurths — Sun, 09 Apr 2006 10:29:53 GMT

I never sign my tickets either,

why would i, never win anything playing the lotto...

anyway, if i would win, no one would know about it until after the money was on my bankaccount.

Reply #7

truecritic — Sun, 09 Apr 2006 10:17:36 GMT

I have no idea if paranoia would set in for a winning ticket - but I never sign mine. Don't think I would put it in a safe deposit box either.

Reply #6

dvdiva — Sun, 09 Apr 2006 03:08:28 GMT

Matching a poorly writen signature to a SSN number would be too difficult for the IRS to bother with on small prizes. My signature is so bad it could only be copied by an epileptic monkey. Unless you won multiple pick 3 straights and are an English teacher I wouldn't worry.

Reply #5

Coin Toss — Sat, 08 Apr 2006 22:54:50 GMT

They are telling you to sign it immediately because it's exactly like you said, a bearer instrument. Let's say you have a winning ticket but lose it and someone finds it...bearer instrument.

There have been court cases but in the latest one the guy who cashed the ticket was proven to have known who bought, and lost the ticket.

Might be yet another reason to play solo.

Reply #4

LOTTOMIKE — Sat, 08 Apr 2006 22:38:23 GMT

i leave my tickets unsigned and in my wallet......

Reply #3

CSenior — Sat, 08 Apr 2006 20:16:59 GMT

When I win I am going to claim it as Trust to gain more on the tax side... JM2

Reply #2

Uff Da! — Sat, 08 Apr 2006 19:36:49 GMT

I'm no attorney, but I suspect that if it is signed in your own name, the IRS would expect the tax would be payable by you personally. That would eliminate some of the tax-saving advantages of having a trust. I expect someone will come along more familiar with details of how the tax law works in that regard.

Personally, I'd leave the tickets unsigned. As soon as I knew I had a big winner and before I told anyone, I'd put them in a bank safe deposit box until I was ready to turn in the tick... [ More ]

Reply #1

RJOh — Sat, 08 Apr 2006 19:30:24 GMT

States don't send out a W-G for winning tickets less than $600 but those winnings should still be included with your taxable income. Some people don't sign those tickets because they don't want a chance of a paper trail back to them if they don't include those winnings as income. I think most store throw those tickets away after recording them but I have seen some stores save them to a container. I suppose if a store had a lot of such winners those tickets might get audited, why take a chance... [ More ]

Signing your ticket?

justxploring — Sat, 08 Apr 2006 19:17:58 GMT

When I first joined, I mentioned that I usually sign my tickets. I remember Todd telling me not to sign my ticket right away because I might want to claim it as a Trust or LLC. That's really good advice, but I'm wondering if the same person who wins a jackpot then creates a Trust, if that signature would really keep him from collecting the money. Do you really think a state lottery would contest it? Every time I get on a state lottery site they always say to sign your ticket immediately. Many p... [ More ]