How long would you wait before claiming your prize?

Reply #39

bomatt — Sun, 23 Jan 2011 02:06:40 GMT

I would wait until my bankruptcy became final then I would not be under the control of the court. Then depending on how much the winnings are, I would pay back the debts on my own terms.

Reply #38

dallascowboyfan — Thu, 20 Jan 2011 01:22:11 GMT

ttech10 you are correct about going anonymous in Texas......... I just went to the Texas Lotto website and saw all the names of the past winners of the Lotto Texas their were several with Trust LLC Partnerships but majority were the winners first last name.....

Reply #37

GASMETERGUY — Wed, 19 Jan 2011 22:37:21 GMT

How long is a nano second

Reply #36

ttech10 — Tue, 18 Jan 2011 14:50:59 GMT

You can't really go anonymous in Texas either. You can get minimal publicity but that still releases your name to the public so anyone you've met will know it's you who won (unless you have a very common name).

It is nice because they won't have a photo to send around but I'd still have to consider setting up a trust if I won. As I've said before, it would depend on if it was a multi-state lottery or just Lotto Texas.

Reply #35

JAP69 — Mon, 17 Jan 2011 16:01:32 GMT

At my age I would need enough time to do the paper work for the prize to be shared by more than one person.

I could claim it alone then my heirs would have the added burden of inheritance taxes. Combine my tax as an indivdual plus inheritnce tax would be something like 70% of the prize amount. Plus all the legal fees for my estate settlement.

Give it away now rather than later. What in hell would I need all that money for at my age.

Reply #34

sully16 — Mon, 17 Jan 2011 02:41:49 GMT

LOL YEP,

Reply #33

Litebets27 — Mon, 17 Jan 2011 00:31:44 GMT

ASAP

Reply #32

dallascowboyfan — Mon, 17 Jan 2011 00:21:53 GMT

Well it depends if win in Texas or Oklahoma...............if it's Texas the next day....... seeing that you can't go anonymous in Oklahoma(you can if you have a trust) a few weeks top...........

Reply #31

Guru101 — Sun, 16 Jan 2011 06:07:39 GMT

The very next day. You can bet your butt I'll be waiting outside Hoosier Lottery headquarters waiting for someone to unlock the doors.

Reply #30

Boney526 — Sun, 16 Jan 2011 05:17:42 GMT

Not sure. Given my current situation, I'd probably wait a while, and have my parents loan me some money and tell them I'd pay them back with SUPER-interest. (Well if I won millions, they'd get a nice early retirement regardless) That's if it was like a huge jackpot. I wouldn't want to go crazy thinking about and spending money, along with all the taxes I'd have to do while I'm in school.

Reminds me of this time I was telling my Dad a story. So I wrote down my numbers, but the line got re... [ More ]

Reply #29

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Reply #28

BaristaExpress — Fri, 14 Jan 2011 13:31:09 GMT

Yes, two weeks is more than enough time to be talking to the lawyer and financial people before the money is electronically deposited to my trust account and 3 other family trust accounts!

No blind trust accounts will be used

Reply #27

ttech10 — Fri, 14 Jan 2011 10:49:17 GMT

Sometime between one and two weeks. Any earlier and it wouldn't really matter since it still takes 2+ weeks for them to get the money ready to be transferred over. In that time I would go about getting a trust setup. I'm not sure if it's a shorter wait for state lottery game wins (such as Lotto Texas), but if it is then I would go about it as quickly as possible.

Reply #26

stripesnsolids — Wed, 12 Jan 2011 22:44:37 GMT

A week at most.

Reply #25

badboy00z — Wed, 12 Jan 2011 07:11:30 GMT

I'd wait maybe a day or two so I can get a CMA setup.

Reply #24

cashmeirtrucker — Tue, 11 Jan 2011 02:42:46 GMT

I would claim my winnings within a week. Given the nature of my job it may take me as many as 3 days to get home, however most times I am no more than a day and a half from home, you just never know. Somemtimes there are weather related travel issues, sometimes there is a short wait between recievers and shippers.

Depending on the amount won... For instance $100K to $100M I would inform my manager that I would need the next week off from work for personal business. This would not raise any ey... [ More ]

Reply #23

AuntiePat — Mon, 10 Jan 2011 15:26:05 GMT

First--I believe it is for all states.

Second--if you take a copy of the ticket that has been validated by the lottery commission--most banks will allow you to borrow against the ticket--or they will open you a line of credit--remember that most states have the regulation that disbursement of winnings is made through automatic wire transfer to a bank--so when the lottery releases your money--they release it to a bank--presumably the one to which you are opening the line of credit--so tha... [ More ]

Reply #22

Fla386 — Mon, 10 Jan 2011 00:45:49 GMT

Reply #21

socalgal — Sun, 09 Jan 2011 23:58:42 GMT

I think I would set up a revocable trust to claim the prize. The Calif Omnibus says - Under unique conditions, the Director may allow prize winnings to be paid to someone other than a natural person. These other entities are (a) a non-profit 501-C corporation, or (b) a revocable trust where the grantor is the winner and the trust is linked to the grantor's social security number

I don't feel comfortable setting up a trust and having a team manage my money, especially lawyers. The thing with t... [ More ]

Reply #20

Elizabeth03 — Sun, 09 Jan 2011 23:39:45 GMT

I would go within a week to the lottery office, and pray the whole time that I don't get too nervous when talking with people

Reply #19

ca-dreamin* — Sun, 09 Jan 2011 23:33:32 GMT

I think it's with all states. Ha especially if you owe the Gov. money.

Reply #18

ca-dreamin* — Sun, 09 Jan 2011 23:31:15 GMT

Oh boy I just re-read what I wrote. I would consult to get an idea of what I wanted to do as far as setting up trust fund or just putting it in the bank that kind of thing.......not actually putting together a team to handle the money. I was thinking about my kids and the best way to give them money without having it become a major tax nightmare.

Reply #17

socalgal — Sun, 09 Jan 2011 23:24:08 GMT

AuntiePat -

Is that just for Ohio or is that a Federal thing? How is someone suppose to pay their debts if their holding the money? I understand the gov't automatically withholds taxes. Can they withhold debts owed before you get your winnings

Reply #16

ca-dreamin* — Sun, 09 Jan 2011 23:23:36 GMT

LOL I didn't say I was gonna hire them

Reply #15

AuntiePat — Sun, 09 Jan 2011 22:58:18 GMT

I know that in OHIO, if you have a winning Jackpot or first tier prize ($200K +) for either PB or Mega, you must call the Oh Lottery Commission and arrange to have your ticket validated and then a ceremony check presented at some future date. First I would stop by the bank and make arrangements for a line of credit so that once the ceremony was over I could dissappear. Since I have been the face of the evictions from my elderly parents' rentals, I know that I would have a lot of enemies as well... [ More ]

Reply #14

KAL035 — Sun, 09 Jan 2011 17:05:58 GMT

Unless maybe you're already a millionaire with no financial worries, I can't imagine why anyone would wait any longer than it takes to arrive at the state lottery headquarters. Laying aside all other business would be the order of the day if I ever found myself with the winning numbers

Reply #13

CutlassBob — Sun, 09 Jan 2011 16:45:44 GMT

There's no time better than the present.

Reply #12

ameriken — Sun, 09 Jan 2011 16:39:35 GMT

On the one hand, I want to think I can wait at least a couple of weeks to let my head and emotions come down and so I can think clearly. But on the other hand, and more realistically, I think I'll be paranoid that something bad will happen to the winning ticket, that I'll lose it or it'll get stolen, the house will burn down with it, the cats will eat it, or some wierd crap like that.

Yeah, that's it, I'll most likely go claim it as soon as possible so that I am absolutely positive that the m... [ More ]

Reply #11

C0w Pi3 — Sun, 09 Jan 2011 15:42:25 GMT

Next day most likely, since I can remain anonymous in Delaware, and 2 weeks is plenty of time to talk it over with my financial people.

Reply #10

savagegoose — Sun, 09 Jan 2011 14:02:57 GMT

next business day, id be at their door, not traveling during peek hour traffic, thats when accidents happen so maybe 11 am, then off to the bentley show room, to pick out my colours for my 2.5 ton crumple zone projector car.

Reply #9

rukiafae — Sun, 09 Jan 2011 12:54:59 GMT

we're betting on it (ummm... literally...LOL)

I'd quit one of my jobs immediatly (the one i hate), the other one I would wait until we had the money.

Reply #8

Viber — Sun, 09 Jan 2011 08:37:39 GMT

As soon as the lottery office doors open.

Why wait? I'd shop for a lawyer after the fact.

Reply #7

JKTAYLOR1 — Sun, 09 Jan 2011 02:14:50 GMT

I would wait long enough for the lottery office to open.

Reply #6

Stack47 — Sun, 09 Jan 2011 01:40:48 GMT

Unless someone wants to complicate their winnings by hiring a team of lawyers that probably have no experience, there is no reason to wait. It's a multi-million piece of paper, but it's worthless until the ticket is validated. I'd probably tell one person and we'll be at the lottery headquarters when it opens. It takes two or three weeks to get the check at that's plenty of time to get one's affairs in order.

Reply #5

time*treat — Sun, 09 Jan 2011 01:02:31 GMT

It'd take me at least 10, maybe even 15 ...

... minutes.

Reply #4

gy65 — Sun, 09 Jan 2011 00:58:11 GMT

Many state lottery websites offer a Winners Handbook . . California example.

Reply #3

ca-dreamin* — Sun, 09 Jan 2011 00:42:16 GMT

Oh I like this and you'll probably win cause your good to go : )

As soon as I worked it out with whoever I decided to contact (lawyer, advisor etc) then I'd turn in the ticket. The sooner the money's in the bank the sooner I kiss my job good bye.

Reply #2

sully16 — Sun, 09 Jan 2011 00:12:06 GMT

next day.

Reply #1

rukiafae — Sat, 08 Jan 2011 23:25:35 GMT

well, since hubby and i believe in being prepared, we already have selected the tax, legal, etc professionals we want to use. So, after calling them and having a meeting to discuss 'next steps', we're ready to go. I would say a week, tops...

How long would you wait before claiming your prize?

socalgal — Sat, 08 Jan 2011 23:11:16 GMT

Hi all! I was just curious what everyone thinks. For me, I would probably wait 1 month before coming forward. I'll just act like it's any other day.

In the news, people in Idaho are getting anxious because the winner hasn't come forward yet. I think it's great. Make everybody wait.