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If a afriend bought you a powerball ticket and you won ,would you

split the money

[ 16 ]

[ 42.1% ]

give the friend a cash amount

[ 18 ]

[ 47.4% ]

buy the friend a gift

[ 1 ]

[ 2.6% ]

send a thank you note

[ 0 ]

[ 0.0% ]

give the friend nothing

[ 3 ]

[ 7.9% ]

Total valid votes

[ 38 ]

Discarded votes

[ 3 ]

angelm

richmond ky.
United States
Member #15,876
May 22, 2005
8,474 Posts
Offline

Jun 8, 2006, 12:12 pm

I would feel obligated to split the money-though I would prefer to just give a certain cash amount of my choice!
Rip Snorter

New Mexico
United States
Member #12,305
March 10, 2005
2,984 Posts
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Jun 8, 2006, 12:33 pm

I don't know.
For me the answer would depend a lot on the nature of the friendship, the circumstances of the 'gift' of the ticket, the amount of the win ($10 - not a chance), and probably a lot of other things.
A gift, thinks I, is a gift. What a person might do in the event the wooden nickel someone gave him turned out to be gold seems to require knowing a lot of other things before knowing the answer.
Jack

Absorb the good, ignore the bad, weigh the ugly.
It's about number behavior.
Egos don't count.

Dedicated to the memory of Big Loooser
LottoVantage

Southeastern Ohio
United States
Member #13,850
April 16, 2005
783 Posts
Offline

Jun 8, 2006, 12:58 pm

I voted, "give the friend a cash amount". There are circumstances which might change the vote for me though.
1. If I gave the money to the friend to buy the ticket.
2. If the ticket was a special occasion gift, (birthday, Christmas, etc.)
csfb

United States
Member #15,309
May 13, 2005
307 Posts
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Jun 8, 2006, 1:15 pm

I did not vote because I don't know the answer. Besides, my training says not to answer hypotheticals based on facts not in evidence.
emilyg

50

United States
Member #14
November 9, 2001
31,614 Posts
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Jun 8, 2006, 1:23 pm

split - if large amount

love to nibble those micey feet.
Litebets27

Maryland
United States
Member #10,465
January 14, 2005
6,369 Posts
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Jun 8, 2006, 1:38 pm

Large Jackpots mean large tax burdens in my State. I'd split the burden with a friend.
litebets

Feeling, PRICELESS!!!

Come on Jackpot!!!
bellyache

United States
Member #12,618
March 18, 2005
2,060 Posts
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Jun 8, 2006, 2:09 pm

I agree that it depends on the circumstances, but I think I would probably split it.
delS

md
United States
Member #14,047
April 20, 2005
627 Posts
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Jun 8, 2006, 3:05 pm

I would split it with the friend; I'm just positive it wouldn't be a 50/50 split. I would give them about 25% of the winnings regardless of the amount won! Nothing more than that!
Uff Da!

Washington State
United States
Member #33,972
February 26, 2006
349 Posts
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Jun 8, 2006, 3:25 pm

I'm no attorney, but here is my thinking on this subject. In the absence of a contract otherwise, I would expect that the full federal income tax burden would fall on the individual making the claim, in this hypothetical situation, me. As a "gift," there would not have been a contract otherwise. So if I wanted to "split the jackpot," if we are talking about a jackpot win, I'd have to make allowance for the amount of taxes I'd actually owe, not just the amount withheld. But wait! That's not enough! Gift taxes (or the potential of gift/inheritance taxes in the future) would be owed on the money gifted. So further adjustments would need to be made.
Now if the person who had gifted the ticket to me was my grandson, by gifting him any more than one million dollars of the jackpot amount, I'd owe another 55% in generation-skipping taxes, if I understand the IRS rules correctly. Hmmmmmm, this could get complicated. Methinks a visit with an attorney would be in order before any decision was reached!
RJOh

100

mid-Ohio
United States
Member #9
March 24, 2001
20,272 Posts
Offline

Jun 8, 2006, 3:46 pm

I've never had a friend buy a lottery ticket for me. Before I retired, if a co-worker was going to Michigan or Indiana to buy BigGame or PowerBall tickets for himself, I would give him $15 and asked him to pick up $10 worth of tickets for me. Had I won big I might have given him an addition bonus, but not split my winnings with him. Had some one been in one of those states to buy tickets for themselves and bought an extra one for me just as a friendly jester and I won big, it would have been a no brainier, I would have split it with them.
After I retired I drove to those states to buy tickets when the jackpot was big and I also bought tickets for my former co-workers at cost. Now that Ohio has MegaMillions, they can buy their tickets locally and I seldom travel to Indiana for PB tickets unless its jackpot is $200M+ and MM jackpot -$50M.

* you don't need to buy every combination, just the winning ones *
konane

USA
United States
Member #1,265
March 13, 2003
9,061 Posts
Offline

Jun 8, 2006, 3:58 pm

Were it not for the person giving me the ticket I would not have won in the first place. I would personally consider the ticket as if we were playing together and split it 50/50 with that person. That way they could assume burden for their own taxes, etc. and let their kindness be a win/win for us both.

Have fun and the best of luck to everyone!
tntea

50

United States
Member #5,344
June 30, 2004
23,639 Posts
Offline

Jun 8, 2006, 7:36 pm

I buy tickets for my Dad all the time. Just took him some for Powerball when I went down today..He said he would pay me back if he wins.. lol

OLD/Vtrac Lottery Bible Double Warnings TN F34/F44
pacattack05

United States
Member #17,554
June 22, 2005
5,582 Posts
Offline

Jun 8, 2006, 7:41 pm

Afterall it was a gift right?????
So 30 percent to them. If they don't like it, well....they should have never bought the ticket in the first place knowing full well of the possible predicaments around the corner.
Don't be an Indian giver I say........
The reason you bought the ticket was hoping that I would hit the Jackpot.
If I hit the Jackpot, then I must feel obligated. That's just the ways theys mades mees......
30 percent is the standard finder's fee.
justxploring

Wandering Aimlessly
United States
Member #25,359
November 5, 2005
4,461 Posts
Offline

Jun 8, 2006, 7:45 pm

Quote: Originally posted by Uff Da! on June 8, 2006
I'm no attorney, but here is my thinking on this subject. In the absence of a contract otherwise, I would expect that the full federal income tax burden would fall on the individual making the claim, in this hypothetical situation, me. As a "gift," there would not have been a contract otherwise. So if I wanted to "split the jackpot," if we are talking about a jackpot win, I'd have to make allowance for the amount of taxes I'd actually owe, not just the amount withheld. But wait! That's not enough! Gift taxes (or the potential of gift/inheritance taxes in the future) would be owed on the money gifted. So further adjustments would need to be made.
Now if the person who had gifted the ticket to me was my grandson, by gifting him any more than one million dollars of the jackpot amount, I'd owe another 55% in generation-skipping taxes, if I understand the IRS rules correctly. Hmmmmmm, this could get complicated. Methinks a visit with an attorney would be in order before any decision was reached!
Hi, Uff Da!
It is true that you can only send a cash amount of $12,000 annually to any individual without paying a gift tax, but if you wanted to split a jackpot that would not be necessary. Some states will pay more than one winner and deduct the taxes accordingly. In states like Florida where only one person can claim the winning ticket, more than one winner should always form a Trust or LLC and then the trust pays the taxes. That's one way to avoid double taxation. Otherwise nobody would ever join a lottery pool. At least that's my understanding of how 2 or more people would split a jackpot.
In all honesty, I wouldn't want a friend to buy me a ticket. It's too complicated.
justxploring

Wandering Aimlessly
United States
Member #25,359
November 5, 2005
4,461 Posts
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Jun 8, 2006, 8:01 pm

Don't be an Indian giver I say........
I don't like that expression. The Indians kept their word and they were massacred anyway.

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