What steps should one take before turning a winning ticket in?

Reply #22

alex1969 — Sat, 17 May 2008 21:18:08 GMT

GREAT INFO!!!! SEE, THIS IS WHY I LOVE THE INTERNET!!!

I just made a thread asking this very questions about getting a great legal team. Sandra Dee you are a genius! Muah! I love your post and the info seemed dead on. I'm gonna try to find that list and thanks to everyone who gave info on this matter.

Reply #21

Sandra Dee — Sat, 17 May 2008 15:22:48 GMT

I'm in the nyc area so there's a mag here NY mag, that publishes the top 100 or so attorney, docs, whatever you need .. I usually go and find the top five estate, tax, trust, financial attorneys and then I simply google their names with BEWARE OR BAD OR FRAUDULENT or any of those catchphrases to make me run .. if nothing shows up, I then go to each individual site, check how long they've been doing work, credentials, schooling, face pic .. do you trust that wrinkle right there? or that mustache,... [ More ]

Reply #20

tntea — Sat, 17 May 2008 14:33:33 GMT

We are going a long vacation first.... While there, we will do lots of research of what we plan to do.. But take our time.

Reply #19

MeFirstYouLast — Sat, 17 May 2008 01:36:55 GMT

If you look up the New Jersey state law on lotteries, the Lottery Director is forbidden from giving financial advise. Texas has the same clause.

Google Estate Lawyer for your state. Find one who is a Fellow and store that name. If you win a jackpot, you WILL be too excited to think of their name.

Remember, you do not have a penny of a lottery jackpot, and never will have a penny of the lottery jackpot until you turn the valid ticket into the lottery office.

You can putz around in inde... [ More ]

Reply #18

Stack47 — Fri, 16 May 2008 22:08:45 GMT

The reason I said I'm pretty sure most state lotteries either give multi-million jackpot winners an advance or help them set up a credit line while they are waiting for the check is because I read it, but not on an official state lottery website. If true an advance would be deducted from the winnings and not be financial advice. A jackpot winner could set up a line of credit using the winnings as collateral with an affidavit from the lottery and that is not financial advice either.

It doesn't... [ More ]

Reply #17

pigsNtrees — Fri, 16 May 2008 17:17:27 GMT

If I were to win a large amount of money I think I would buy Treasury Bills for the bulk of my winnings. I'm not looking for ways to make more money but a safe place to keep it.

I've been Googling around and found this info on Treasury Bills (T-Bills).

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Treasury Bills (T-bills) are the most marketable money market security. Their popularity is mainly due to their simplicity. Essentially, T-bills are a way for the U.S. government to raise... [ More ]

Reply #16

lottocalgal — Fri, 16 May 2008 15:46:12 GMT

You folks have had some great responses. Now THATS the kind of stuff i like reading about.

been just sitting hear listening (reading) all of the info.

I too am planning just in case research even to the pont of going to the local recorders office to find the owner of a vacant residential lot I have had my eye on for months. Its not even for sale yet, it just sits there.

Thanks a bunch.

ACT AS IF

Reply #15

MeFirstYouLast — Fri, 16 May 2008 15:33:30 GMT

There are hundreds of jackpot winners worldwide, over the recent year or two. Seldom do any of them go bankrupt any more. That used to be the story, but people are learning. Some wait months, some claim it right away. Obviously it makes very little difference, from a cry wolf aspect. It all boils down to taxes and stupidity. If you hit the $180M Mega tonight, after taxes you would have over $50M. If you wasted $10M a year, that would take 50 years to go broke. Then again, if you plan to reward e... [ More ]

Reply #14

KY Floyd — Fri, 16 May 2008 01:17:36 GMT

these are people that will be messing with a lot of YOUR money

They're financial advisors . They'll only be doing something with your money if you let them. Rule number 1 for investing is never invest in something you don't understand. If you follow advice and invest in something without understanding what it is, why it's a good idea, and what the risk is, it won't be the advisor that made a mistake if you lose money.

Reply #13

Piaceri — Fri, 16 May 2008 01:07:51 GMT

Found a few websites that address how to go about finding an financial advisor. The first thing you need to do is educate yourself about Financial Planners. There are several good educational websites.

If you go to wikihow and search How to deal with winning the lottery, it has several good suggestions. One i was a bit confused by says to get a lawyer first, then a financial planner after you receive the money. It also advises against buying your favorite sports team. However, it is a good re... [ More ]

Reply #12

four4me — Thu, 15 May 2008 23:18:33 GMT

No the lottery doesn't give advise except for you to contact a financial adviser.

The lottery doesn't want to be held liable for giving a person advise on what to do with their winnings.

Reply #11

CaliWinner — Thu, 15 May 2008 23:07:47 GMT

Okay, so you shop around...what questions do you ask? What qualifications do you look for? I did the same thing as you DC81 -- it's easy to find a list of attorneys or CFPs, either online or through the yellow pages, but how do you know that they're good at what they do? Not having any complaints through the state Bar doesn't mean that they're a good tax attorney, for example -- it just means they haven't been caught doing anything illegal yet. It just seems like, for the average person, getting... [ More ]

Reply #10

ConstantlyB — Thu, 15 May 2008 22:23:46 GMT

just like the songs says: you better shop around....you better shoppppppppppppp around

Reply #9

DC81 — Thu, 15 May 2008 22:23:24 GMT

I dunno but I just looked around local listings and if I were to win, I'd pick a law firm that works for several employers/companies, the bigger the better and also have people to do the setting up a Trust or LLC. At least where I am I have access to attorneys just outside my area that work several large corporations, including Dow Chemical, GM, AAA, a couple local stations and several others. Only thing is they'd probably cost an arm and a leg to hire. However, my only immediate purpose of hiri... [ More ]

Reply #8

CaliWinner — Thu, 15 May 2008 21:39:00 GMT

The thing I always wonder is how you're supposed to find a suitable attorney and/or financial planner? I've never even used an attorney or CFP, and a) wouldn't even know how to find one, and b) wouldn't know how to pick the right one. All the things I read about winning the lottery say Get an attorney and CFP but give almost no guidelines or criteria on how to choose them, and since these are people that will be messing with a lot of YOUR money, it seems rather important to pick someone that act... [ More ]

Reply #7

DC81 — Thu, 15 May 2008 20:45:30 GMT

You'd sign it to the name of the LLC or Trust's name because using yours would make you the one claiming it.

Reply #6

pigsNtrees — Thu, 15 May 2008 20:07:52 GMT

And speaking of a Limited Liability Company, should you sign your winning ticket with your name or the LLC or Blind Trust's name

Reply #5

Stack47 — Thu, 15 May 2008 18:05:44 GMT

It depends on the jackpot and what lottery game it is. I think the big ones (Mega Millions and Power Ball) give you some money the day it's claimed, like a million dollars and then you get the rest of the lump sum in a couple weeks.

I'm pretty sure most state lotteries either give multi-million jackpot winners an advance or help them set up a credit line while they are waiting for the check. This only applies after the winner validates the ticket so those who hire a team of lawyers and finan... [ More ]

Reply #4

DC81 — Thu, 15 May 2008 14:40:01 GMT

Long, boring, rambling post and I forgot to mention that you could look into CDARs if this small local bank offers them, it's a good way to get around the FDIC's paltry $100,000 insurance coverage.

Reply #3

DC81 — Thu, 15 May 2008 05:52:19 GMT

Depends on how quicky you get things set up and how patient you are, I'd guess you could probably have everything set up within two weeks if not sooner. You could always claim it in a few days, it might depend on how important retaining some sort of privacy and preperation is.

You should probably also contact an attorney that has experience in estate planning or setting up a Limited Liability Company if you plan on setting up and/or claiming it as a trust or LLC. If you have a family att... [ More ]

Reply #2

Bagent — Thu, 15 May 2008 05:29:01 GMT

To try and answer your question... It has been mentioned here on LP that it is wise to consult a tax attorney AND financial advisor before you claim the winnings. As to private banks I have no clue sorry.

To answer the question as to how long for first payment... I have heard different stories. If you are taking yearly payments, I have heard that you will receive the first payment within a day or so of claiming. If you do the lump sum, you will have to wait for up to 6 weeks to get the money... [ More ]

Reply #1

psykomo — Mon, 12 May 2008 17:33:32 GMT

G@@D ?????????

I SEE U like to PLAN AHEAD!!!

I have heard of people..........winning the JACKPOT on a FRIDAY

and CLAIMING the JACKPOT on a MONDAY

That does not mean U-HE-IT will have the money in bank monday nite

BUTT SOME can HANDLE $$$$

Some can't HANDLE MONEY

LOL

PSYKOMO

What steps should one take before turning a winning ticket in?

luckycluck — Mon, 12 May 2008 16:49:38 GMT

How soon should you go talk to a tax attorney? beofre or after? Also, does anybody know if Private Banks would be a good alternative for independent financial analysts?

How long does it take to receive your first payment?

Thanks