The Illinois woman knew on Dec. 18, the winning lottery ticket she held would change her life.
On March 19, she was claiming an oversized check from the state and answering questions from news media.
That the winner picked up the $81.5 million prize, her half of a $163 million Mega Millions jackpot drawing, is a big deal.
That it took three months is a rarity. She spent the time to work with lawyers and financial advisers to maintain anonymity and protect assets — something the state lottery agency wants other potential winners to note.
Sporting large sunglasses, the winner, a pharmacist, came forward, but she refused to provide her name or where she lived. An occasional player, she bought the winning ticket at a gas station at 851 S. Sutton Rd. in Streamwood.
"I came back home. My husband said, 'Let me check your ticket,' " she said. A quick confirmation through an Internet site and the two were screaming in delight. "It was a shocking moment."
Awesome story about a smart lady - congrats!
I wonder if that's a wig...
Much more responsible than those others who recently claimed winnings within days of winning. Hats off to people who use their heads!
Congrats to her! It looks like she really did her homework.
Very smart lady. This is something that I said I would do when I WIN big but now, seeing that someone really did it, I know that I am really on to something. Maybe it is fate or something. I'm Next!
Very smart indeed...! Potential winners could learn a lot from this lady...
Congrats to her and the family.
I saw this on the 9pm news on WGN last night and wondered if it was gonna be on this website today.A very,very smart lady,indeed.
I wonder if the winner of the January 16th (?) Powerball drawing in Louisiana is doing the same thing.
I wonder if they took 1/3 of her winnings.
Very smart and responsible lady. I am very happy for her.
Very, very smart move. She had a good make-up artist too. I think the nose and the chin were fake, but the smile was real.
Congratulations!!!
I can't tell from this angle....if it were a frontal view I could tell better. She may have extensions...lol...for added fullness.
Now I feel like she's an LP FAMILY MEMBER if she's not a member she is indeed the spouse of a member. She has exhibited some strong LP family member traits ya'll.
NOW THAT'S APPLYING WHAT YOU HAVE LEARNED!!!!!
o....sorry .......and congrats to the lucky lady .....wtg
but it could be a guy in drag ......that would really throw everyone off
Lmao!!!! very funny and i thought the same thing.
I can honestly say that I would have taken the same approach they have taken. I am so glad to see someone finally take time and get all ducks in a row b4 takin a dive into the "money ocean".
I was thinkin about driving up to Illinois to play my Mega Millions numbers but decided against it after learning that you have to do the press conference. So I went to Ohio instead. I have been waiting to see how this person would be treated and how the media would pick up on the story and its been reletivley low key. i think I will be going back to Illinois. i need a state that has more than 10 advance draws....lol I would go to Michigan but thats an 8hr drive from here and that would turn into a weekend type ordeal and I just wanna go, get the tkt, come back home. I'm very happy for the winners though
congrats........
Were they really that smart?
$80,000,000 minus 25 per cent for Tax=$60,000,000
Invested at 3 per cent yields: $1,800,000 per year!
So waiting 3 months to claim the prize money cost: $450,000
Sorry Im not taking 3 months to claim my money. Im so poor I could use that NOW. If I ever won Id be at the headquarters the next day. If you dont know how to manage money like that on your own, you dont deserve it IMO.
Not true. The money earns interest if you wait to claim it. They lost nothing by waiting.
I'm not waiting 3 months, what if something happens the last week or two and you can't make it in time
I wasn't aware of that Destined .thanks for that information.
WTG lady! Wish you the best!
And I am a professional of desguises. No. She isn't disguised.
Original Post by ConstantlyB
Now I feel like she's an LP FAMILY MEMBER if she's not a member she is indeed the spouse of a member. She has exhibited some strong LP family member traits ya'll.
I am also one of those who would try to get things together, but I would also not wait 3 months to do it.
So much for Illinois not being an anonymous state!
Actually it is a misconception that wealthy people manage their money on their own. Most all truly wealthy people...people who run businesses, long time successful celebrities and athletes, entreprenuers, and inventors utilize a team of advisors that include lawyers (for the specialized areas of need), financial and estate advisors, CPAs, and business advisors to help them make sound decisions with regards to their wealth. The do it yourself fad that swept over us in the 90s largely was taken up just by the middle class, which might explain why the middle class is worse off today than a decade ago despite the run ups in both the stock and real estate market. So just say no to all those "do it yourself" investment company commercials. So it is not a bad reflection on a person if they have a competent and trustworthy team of advisors helping them out. On the contrary, I believe it is a person with poor judgement who thinks they can handle every aspect of managing their wealth WITHOUT the aid of legal, financial, tax, and business experts. You say that you are poor now...hmmm, take a look at the people with which you surround yourself...take their incomes and divide it by the number of people involved to arrive at an average. If the average income is just about where you are now, I highly recommend that you change your circle of friends...IMMEDIATELY!!! It is true that the company you keep has a direct reflection on you...and how successful (or not) you will be in the future.
FYI: You can purchase up to 15 advance draws in Illinois. The only place I know of that is much better than that is Virginia. I don't know about Michigan, but I don't make the drive to MI unless I have some other business to do in that state, so I prefer to just play locally here in IL for MM. Yes I know you can claim the prize anonymously in MI, but I would handle it just like the lady did in this case...disguise included!
No, I don't think that was the case. That only typically happens in the area of lawsuits because of the amount of work that has to be done to be successful in court, and the likelihood that they may not win or get the judgement amount they were seeking. When it comes to using lawyers for business, tax, estate, and patent planning, you can hire them by the hour. Just be sure to review and endorse the compensation contract beforehand...after all, you are dealing with lawyers. But on the real, don't be penny wise and pound foolish by trying to do without such expert advice...this lady is indeed pound wise by not pinching pennies to do without expert advice. I don't think we are going to be reading about her in the same light we have with Jack Whitacker, Bud Post, David Edwards, etc. See living in the Land of Lincoln is grand!
Where does it state that at? I'm sure it is collecting interest while sitting in the bank but where does it say that the winner also gets accured interest from it?
it may have cost them 450k in short term but think of how much they saved with potiential frivilous lawsuits and the peace of mind that comes with anonymity.
What if you get in a fatal car accident on the way to claim the jackpot? If you live your life based on "what ifs", ultimately, no amount of money is going to make you happy. You are going to be constantly waiting for the "other shoe to drop". That ain't livin'.
Illegal immigration is a bad thing.....ask any Indian.
What frivoulous lawsuits are they referring to?
Is it a fact that taxes can be saved by claiming the jackpot as a partnership?
True but the whole point of waiting months is for security of your winnings, and I'm just saying waiting till the "last minute" doesn't sound very secure to me
Being in a health professions occupation you are always a target. Joe Schmoe finds out his pharmacist is a few million dollars richer, and decides to sue him just to see what he can get. People make stuff up all the time.
I've heard that you can be sued by a burglar if he gets hurt by things on your property while he is trespassing. But maybe that's an exaggeration.
She didn't wait until the last minute to collect her winnings.She waited about 3 months so she could get her "ducks in a row".Most states allow you a year to collect your winnings,some only allow you 6 months.I don't know of any that only allow 3 months.
Rushing to the lottery headquarters the very next day won't gain you anything either.It takes up to two weeks to verify a MM or PB ticket and you'll have to wait to get your money.
It takes two weeks? Please.
It takes four to six weeks to: 1- validate the tickets authenticity 2- Verify the ticket claimants information with a full background check. (Past taxes due, any outstanding warrants, child support, you get the jist) 3- Collect the funds 4: setup proper dispersement to the claimants 5: Initiate the bank check for deposit or guarantee of funds.
The point of the story is two fold: THe lady followed sound advice and she did things in a manner that safe guards her funds and her family intentions. As to RICH folks having slews of advisors, the best advice I hurd was from Oprah who still reviews all her financial holdings and writes her own checks! The greatest flaw she has seen by folks with money is entrusting a group of advisors to handle the money and ensuring persons they are secure. Most stars who have filed bankruptcy did so because they allowed a team of experts to handle their funds, and skim in the process.
During those 4 to 6 weeks I see nothing wrong with sending the ticket in to be processed whilst getting sound advice. If I cant figure out what to do with millions in that time, then by golly I got some family members who will remind me!.
I couldn't find out how long it takes to collect your check from Mega Millions,but Powerball checks ARE cut in two weeks from the time you show up at the lottery office to collect.You can find this information on the Iowa Lottery website.It's in adobe acrobat format and I can't seem to pull up a link to it.I can't imagine that it takes Mega Millions 4-6 weeks to do what Powerball does in 2 weeks,but I suppose its possible.
The rest of your post makes sense to me.I wouldn't trust many people to manage my money.If these so-called experts are so good at managing money,why aren't they retired living in luxory on a south pacific island?
Feadogger
Massachussets and some other states (what are they thinking) have "Forced-to-flee" laws, i.e., if an intruder enters your home you are forced to flee so as not to harm them.
There is a huge difference between accumulated wealth and over night wealth. People accumulate wealth by making smart business decisions and hire financial advisers to protect their personal wealth. They don't just hand their personal wealth over to a team of financial advisers and say "have fun".
"That it took three months is a rarity. She spent the time to work with lawyers and financial advisers to maintain anonymity and protect assets"
Maybe it's just me, but if wanted maintain anonymity, I wouldn't attend the press conference and certainly wouldn't want it to be known that I was a pharmacist that lived or worked near a gas station at 851 S. Sutton Rd. in Streamwood. I wonder how many people saw her picture and said "hey I know her".
"The team helped the family create the JYS Family Limited Partnership and put together entities to keep the winner's identity from the public, and shield the money from some taxes, creditors and frivolous lawsuits while providing for her, her husband, children and any future grandchildren, Kuenster said."
This is how people that accumulated wealth separate their personal assists from business assists to protect them from future business failures. This jackpot winner has divided the winnings into shares in a limited partnership that will probably be distributed to family and friends. Probably one of the better ideas I've seen for sharing the winnings.
"If the average income is just about where you are now, I highly recommend that you change your circle of friends...IMMEDIATELY!!!"
Somebody spends a lifetime making good friends and your suggesting your friends are no longer good enough for you because you hit the jackpot. Good luck with making new friends at the Country Club that has a group of people that accumulated wealth. Ever hear of the Jed Clampett syndrome?
Ya for some reason i thought it was 3 months. I stand corrected.
Waiting 3 months is more than reasonable
And other states have "Make My Day" laws aka Stand Your Ground where a person is not required to flee but may inflict bodily harm up and to and including death in order to protect persons or even just property in some states
Look it up at Wikipedia, I'm using a browser that won't allow me to paste links.
JWBlue - I also thought about that statement. People are very litigious so who knows what someone might think up after finding out she won all that money? She's a pharmacist, so I assume she has insurance anyway. But I can just see a pregnant woman in court insisting she didn't know the birth control pills she was prescribed are to be taken by mouth. "Yes, I wore that diaphragm every night. It looked strange and didn't quite fit my big toe, but I thought I was protected."
The GameGrl writes: "......The greatest flaw she has seen by folks with money is entrusting a group of advisors to handle the money and ensuring persons they are secure. Most stars who have filed bankruptcy did so because they allowed a team of experts to handle their funds, and skim in the process."
I couldn't agree with you more! There used to be a commercial slogan "Thank you Paine Weber." Several years ago I personally changed that to "F-you, Paine Weber." It's important to watch over your investments and stay up-to-date on market conditions, not only to ensure that others are honest, but that they are also competent.
Lilly & Coin Toss - We're the Old Wild West here in Florida. Shoot now, ask later. I'm not sure if it passed, but I remember when Jeb Bush wanted to change the law that requires a person to walk away from a conflict whenever possible to allow using deadly force when one feels threatened.
In some states you have up to 3 months to decide how you want to claim your jackpot,annuity or cash option.Thats probably where you got the 3 month figure.
Probably the type of lawsuits where they hope the defendant will offer them a settlement that is less than the cost of going to court. It sounded like a frivolous lawsuit when that woman put a hot cup of coffee between her legs while driving her car so she could answer her cell phone, but look at what she got.
It said "some taxes" and the limited partnership was formed before they cashed the ticket. If Uncle Fred had a 1% share, he might not have to pay a gift tax.
When the woman who won the $91 million while still living at the Econo Lodge was on Oprah, she was told on camera (by Oprah) "Don't let anyone sign your checks but you. I took that to mean that she should have the final say on anything regarding her money....period."
But she still should have someone helping her....Yes, Oprah does sign her checks...and nothing gets done without her permission..............but she STILL has advisors.
I don't recall ever seeing anything that said that the funds are earning interest that will increase the amount paid to the winner when they get around to claiming it. The Ohio lottery website has some detailed info on the cash amount here:
http://www.ohiolottery.com/howtoplay.stm
At least with MM, the annuity appears to be purchased immediately, and the cash value comes from the sale of the securities that have been purchased. The site linked specifically says that the risk of loss in value lies with the winner. The cash value of government securities depends on interest rates. If interest rates go up before the securities are sold, their cash value will go down. OTOH, if rates go down the value will go up.
What really happens depends on timing, and how much rates change. Since the fed just reported a 3/4 point reduction, the cash value of securities purchased just before the cut could potentially increase substantially. More typically, interest rates won't change rapidly, and therefore the value won't change. Still, a minor loss of value while making plans could be insignificant compared to the possible risk of rushing ahead with poor planning.
"Most stars who have filed bankruptcy did so because they allowed a team of experts to handle their funds, and skim in the process."
There's no question that people with money are often taken advantage of by those with access, but what really matters is the likelihood of that happening. If 90% of people with money have advisors then 90% of people who had money and file for bankruptcy have advisors, but that doesn't mean that a lot of people with advisors are victimized. Most rich people have ups and downs, but few suffer major losses. Having advisors is a major benefit to virtually anyone who doesn't already have the knowledge and skill to do it themselves. Your chances of being victimized are largely related to your personal involvement. If you don't pay attention to what's going on, you won't know about problems until they're really big problems.
Here's a statistic that's far more useful than how many celebrities have been vistimized by their advisors: Nearly 100% of lottery winners who went bankrupt either didn't have advisors or didn't listen to the advice they were given.
I'd love to see a legitimate reference to a law in a single state that says you have to flee so as not to harm an intruder. Self defense laws in some states do prohibit the use of deadly force when you can safely avoid danger by fleeing, but that's very different than your claim. Some states allow deadly force almost any time there is an intruder in your home, while others only allow deadly force when you have a legitimate reason to believe that you are in danger and must use deadly force to protect yourself. There is no state that prohibits deadly force when it is necessary to defend yourself from severe or mortal danger.
IF YOU ENTER MY HOME BY FORCE, I DEFINITELY CONSIDER YOU A THREAT TO ME!!! Now let's do this for those sickos who think that we should flee. Let the intruder flee from my rabid pitt bulls!!!!!!!!!
I am assuming that the attorneys schooled her/him on how to skirt the requirements to divulge her information. Does anyone know of anyone who was able to do the same thing and not reveal who they were to collect their winnings in states that do not allow annonymity?
BRAVOooooooooooo
!!!!!! for being a very smart lady
Smart to wait and get things in order befor claiming prize. I know a lot of people who say that they would be at the lottery office the next day to claim their money (before the office is open). It would not be smart to think you can just stick all that money into a checking and savings account; that's as far as most folks assets are right now. Your money is only FDIC insured up to a max amount. Trust me, if this lady had a credit card back in college that she did not pay off, I assure you creditors will be trying to come after her some 25 yrs later trying to collect with accumulated finance charges. Never mind if they are able to collect---this is where all the frivelous law suits and other crap would come in. On another note--she is a pharmacist and she is making GOOD money---surely not living pay check to pay check. My cousin's wife, his wife's brother, his wife's sister-in-law and his wife's cousin are pharmacists and they are banking!
wishes thar was more like her
This was the point I was trying to make (thank you Perfect Timing and KYFloyd as you were right on point). Have your advisors available AND utilize them, but in the end YOU make the final decisions and the actionable decisions.
I said in an earlier post in regard to someone who said they were poor: "If the average income is just about where you are now, I highly recommend that you change your circle of friends...IMMEDIATELY!!!"
Stack 47 replied: Somebody spends a lifetime making good friends and your suggesting your friends are no longer good enough for you because you hit the jackpot. Good luck with making new friends at the Country Club that has a group of people that accumulated wealth. Ever hear of the Jed Clampett syndrome?
My reply to Stack47: You missed the point I was trying to make...and it wasn't referring to someone who hit the jackpot (see my opening sentence in this post). Sure I have good friends that in all likelihood I will probably remain good friends with in the future, but that is largely because their goals for prosperity are congruent with mine. However, if I had a set of good friends that were just fun to be around but not in line with some of my important goals, then yes I would probably stop associating with them at some point in time (not necessarily just after "making it", but more than likely before that point). People change. Life throws you situations in which you must change or get left behind (just look at what Tiger Woods is doing...and he has accomplished all he has largely through several swing changes/improvements). And as a person grows in life, it only makes sense that his/her circle of friends should change to reflect that growth (again, Tiger Woods started out being coached by his father, then he had a few other instructors, then he worked with Butch Harmon, and now he is working with Hank Haney). I never said to change friends just because of some superficial reason like outward appearances or trying to fit in. That is perhaps just as bad as trying to hang on to friends you simply have outgrown (just ask anyone who is trying to break a bad habit like drinking or smoking...do you think the successful ones continue to hang around friends who still are habitual users of those substances they themselves had addictions to?). Stack you interpolated way too far when you responded to this point...because you missed the point I was trying to make by a country mile. But have a nice day.
Remember, each individual is different. For the pharmacist, waiting three months to claim her prize -- was right for her.
New Mexico has a 90-day window -- if you do not claim your prize within 90 days, you forfeit your winnings because there is not a six-month waiting period, here. However, I am not sure if you can form a LIMITED PARTNERSHIP in New Mexico. Nevertheless, New Mexico does not require a press conference (although the lottery personnel would like you to do so), but you are required to give your name and the city (not your address) for the record.
On the other hand, I would agree that a winner should hire an attorney: there are legal issues involved which must be resolved:
1. Do you have a LAST WILL and TESTAMENT in place. If so, revisit and revise. Your financial status has changed. Who is going to be the executor or the executrix (a woman who is in charge of your estate?)
2. How will your children or heirs be provided for (if a winner has children or heirs)?
3. Do not forget your funeral plans. I am not trying to spook anyone! Everyone should have discussed his or her plans prior to winning (we might assume that a 21-year old winner might not have initiated that conversation). Of course, as family members die, you will hopefully have the security in knowing your final wishes have been carried out by a remaining family member, loyal friend, or a significant other.
4. Do you have a DECLARATION OF RIGHT TO DIE CONSENT in place? People do get sick. Do you want to be kept alive by unusual artificial means, heroic measures, or extraordinary medical or related procedures as such means, measures or procedures may be available at that time?
5. If a winner continues to work, INSURANCE CLAIM FORMS from his or her job may have to be changed, especially if a winner is now separated, divorced, or widowed.
Personally, I do not have a problem with anyone who collects immediately because there are some people who hate their jobs so much that they literally drag themselves to work, everyday: mental and physical stress can take a physical toll on one's health. Nevertheless, if one chooses to go to the lottery office the next day to claim his or her winnings, but in the meantime, seek legal advice and/or financial advice after submitting his or her claim form, then...who am I to say he or she is wrong.
Notwithstanding, unless the financial advice is free...why pay for it? For everyone of the financial advisors -- who are advising the winners -- those advisors should be filthy rich themselves. Check out their portfolios!
In the meantime -- exercise some common sense by:
1. Changing your phone or not answering it. If you are the sole support of an ailing family member, you might want to assign a certain ring number. For example, a sick aunt might ring twice -- and hang up -- and then ring again. That is up to you?
2. Utilizing an answering machine. You definitely can shut that off.
3. Keeping your mouth tightly sealed: it is none of anyone's business. Now, if a winner lives in a very small town, that is virtually impossible. I think city dwellers have a better opportunity of shielding their identity. For example, if a winner lives in Chicago, New York City, Dallas Texas, other major hubs, they can whistle Dixie. We have a New Mexico winner living in a small town -- but he refuses to leave -- and he gets bombarded with requests for money. So, a hint to the wise!
4. Depositing your winnings in safe investments: savings, checking, mutual funds, and treasury notes until you can decide what you want to do. Remember, you are only F.D.I.C. insured (savings) -- $100,000. Therefore, you must disperse your funds at different banks...unless you have confidence in the government that your deposits in the millions (savings), in the same bank, will be secured -- no next depression -- although we are slightly in a recession, now. Overall, a winner should have a diversified portolio, not putting his or her winnings in one investment, only.
For the curious. I am not an attorney or even a lottery winner, yet...but I read, listen, and learn from others. Yes, I do have a/an:
1. LAST WILL & TESTAMENT
2. POWER OF ATTORNEY
3. RIGHT TO DIE STATEMENT
4. OBITUARY
5. FUNERAL SERVICE
6. INSURANCE CLAIM FORMS FOR MY BENEFICIARY
7. BIRTH CERTIFICATE
Finally, since I am single with no children (and I do not want to be married or have children), I felt that I should have the above documents on record!
That IS a smart lady! I honestly doubt that the lady pictured is actually the lady that won.
"You say that you are poor now...hmmm, take a look at the people with which you surround yourself...take their incomes and divide it by the number of people involved to arrive at an average. If the average income is just about where you are now, I highly recommend that you change your circle of friends...IMMEDIATELY!!!"
The topic is "Lottery winner demonstrates the right way to claim a big jackpot" and your opening sentence was "Actually it is a misconception that wealthy people manage their money on their own". I compared accumulated wealth to over night wealth. How is that statement about "poor people" related to how wealthy people manage their money?
I assumed because most people that believed they were poor would need to do much more than to just change their circle of friends to improve their income, it had to apply to winning a jackpot.
"And as a person grows in life, it only makes sense that his/her circle of friends should change to reflect that growth (again, Tiger Woods started out being coached by his father, then he had a few other instructors, then he worked with Butch Harmon, and now he is working with Hank Haney)."
Accumulating golf skills and accumulating wealth are comparable. I can buy a lottery ticket and become wealthy overnight; where can I buy a ticket and win Tiger Woods' golf skills overnight?
"Stack you interpolated way too far when you responded to this point...because you missed the point I was trying to make by a country mile."
There is nothing strange about being in a circle or friends who average about the same income whether it is $10K a year or $200K a year. Was your point that somebody in the lower income bracket can greatly increase their income by doing nothing more than changing their circle of friends?
How is that point related to claiming a jackpot or how wealthy people manage their money?
Perhaps I could have been more grammatically correct in starting a new paragraph. Also, in an effort to be concise, I don't expound fully on every point (if you want detail to the nth degree, go to the New Mexico lottery website, click on faq, and read the critique of lottery critics segment). But as I and my friends reread what I wrote, we don't arrive at the conclusions you do. Give it a rest...I made my point and you want to dream up new ways to have a beef with what I wrote. You obviously wouldn't make a great debater. But hey, we all can play the lotto, dream about winning the big one, and hopefully live ours lives in peace. Peace out homie!
i havent been on in a while so sorry for the gap in time but your statement is SO deep, thank you for that.
I'm impressed! I love how this winner set things up. I don't think I will take 3 months unless it takes a full 3 months to get all this down airtight. Who knows, maybe it did take this long to hammer this out.
If I read this right, the winner has a limited partnership that claimed the lottery winnings, but then also legal entities to protect the LP. Each entity would have to have papers drawn and tax IDs created. Before they even start creating the entities, they have to create the master game plan. Doing this right could take some time. And who knows what snags they had along the way that may have held things up.
The only other thing I could say to do is have more than one "winner" stand at the podium. I'm sure I can find some random people I or my kids (both in college) know who for $12k would gladly stand at the podium wearing sunglasses posing as "family members".
Congrats to the winner and all her (his?) smart moves!
wow thats a pretty good idea, i wonder why i never thought of that.
One has to weigh the cost of a team of professionals vs how much money they are actually
saving you. I could be wrong but lawyers tend to charge what they want even sizing up
their customers so if they get wind of a big lottery winner I know their fees will change
accordingly. The only person I think I would consult is a CPA or someone who could properly
inform me how to duck some of those nasty tax laws. Dont think Ill need a team for that,
although I would get about 3 to 4 different opinions and then decide who to go with
tax free municipal bonds is a good way to skirt taxes.
if they formed a business/partnership, chances are they could live off the interest, but still have to claim income on that.
Smart lady! WTG! Enjoy your millions!
What a minute, this woman won this in IL where they DON'T allow you to remain anonymous, I didn't know you could still make legal entities, so it turns out that in a way you can still remain anonymous, that's cool. Everybody's been sayin that when you cant remain anonymous you also cant create legal entities and it turns out that it's the opposite.
In the immortal words of Barney Stinson - "Awesome"
Doesn't that also depend on the state? Don't some states require the legal entities to be disclosed in public records?
I suppose.
So, even if you make the legal entities and they are exposed to the public, your name and assets are safeguarded from them via the ENTITIES.
A good rule of thumb is that the creation and existence of a legal entity is a public record. How many details about that entity are considered a public record will vary from state to state. Generally it would be wise to figure that there will be at least one person that is the representative of an entity, and the name and address of that person will be public. That person can be the attorney representing the actual owner(s) of the ticket. It would be wiser still to consult an attorney when the specifics of the law that applies to you become important.
I would guess that many of the states that say you can't remain anonymous are simply offering a generalized answer. They'll release information about the winner, but that doesn't mean the winner has to be an individual or individuals. Unless the state requires that the prize be claimed by the individual(s) who own the ticket, creating a trust or other legal entity should allow you to make some information harder to find.
I agree KyMystikal-
I would bet they have LP connections; but more importantly, they show any potential our time and work through all issues, and breathe as the money begins to make the better life for you. As opposed to you *&^%#$%)_ it all up!
This is the way I have planned my big Jackpot pay off!
BUTT, she or a member of HER family>>>>>>>
need's, to tell >>>>>Todd>>>(pronto)^
>>>>>>>>>>>>>
of the >>>>>>>>>>>Lottery Post>>>>>
PSYKOMO
KY Floyd, your answer is the best I have read by far as to how to remain anonymous. Thanks!
I suppose,
I can't see how it is any different from what i've been saying.
Then perhaps you're having trouble reading it, understanding it, or both. I suppose it could also be confusion about what you've said, which wasn't much, and wasn't very informative. Go figure.
Dude, why are you hatin on me, I didn't do anything to you?
and ps Ive stated the first part or your comment about legal entities multiple times
the second part on the other hand about generalization, i didnt know, your comment was GENIUS, I would've never thought of that, thanks,
"Gee Brain, what do you want to do tonight?"
"The same thing we do every night, Pinky- try to take over the world."
If I choose to respond to a post I simply give it the response I think it deserves. I didn't see that you said anything useful about legal entities in this thread, but you felt it necessary to whine when appreciation was expressed for somebody else's answers. I thought your whining deserved a response.
If you think my comment was genius, then you obviously see some difference. I thought it was a relatively simple assumption, which means I could be completely wrong*, but thanks, anyway.
* It seems to me that the use of trusts or other legal entities is relatively new (or at least it wasn't at all common in the past) for claiming jackpots, which is why I'm guessing that some states may be offering general answers about "winners" and anonymity. Since any legal entity can generally own property and have rights to that property, I don't see that a lottery can refuse to pay the prize to, and release only the name of the lawful owner of the ticket, unless there is a specific state law that says only individuals can own tickets. FWIW, patents are one notable exception to ownership by entities other than individuals. Patents are only issued to individuals (at least in the US), but the rights to the patent can be assigned to a company.
I haven't read this entire thread, but isn't there a Powerball ticket worth $95 million that hasn't been claimed?
Well, I'm looking at the Powerball site right now and it lists a 97mil. dol annuity hit on Jan 16, 08 as unknown
cash value $48,478,863.05. perhaps this is the one you're referring to. Won in Louisiana!!!
That's it. So I was off by $2 million.
I haven't finished reading this topic yet and maybe someone else has said something but I had to stop and respond to this.
If you're referring to the case I think you are, you have absolutely none of the facts or the circumstances surrounding it. Feel free to do a minute's worth of research on Liebeck v. McDonald's Restaurants, P.T.S., Inc.
Ugh, I forgot to check that "quote" box before the previous post to show what/who it was directed to..
exactly. I wonder if sometimes you aren't better off on your own, really.
You know, i'm glad you posted that. It never crossed my mind that even my checking account was only FDIC insured up to 100,000. What DO people do w/ all that $$$??
My aunt is a pharmacist but she's a penny pincher, outlet shops, drives a used Lexus and lives in a modest neighborhood. smart woman!!!
Why is it that lottery winners should hide in the shadows, find strangers to evaluate how they should spend the money, and then loose the interest for the period of their worrying? How long does it take to make a decision? 30-days? 60-days? 90-days? Why so long? Isn't 30 days long enough? I think I could make initial evaluations much shorter then that. You can, and will, always change your investment posture in the future! It is not like any decision made is there in concrete, impossible to change.
Every one has to know that if you claimed the prize 10 hours after the drawing, you do NOT get the money? You can get a supplemental check for around a million, but the big money stays out of reach for around 30 days. That means you already have a full month to assemble a team and make your initial decisions! Wait 90 days to claim the prize? You still wait the additional month to get the actual transfer to your account of choice! That is 120 days. In this case, they lost - forever - a extra half-million dollars to the state. You know the state is keeping the interest for that 90 days!
No one will ever convince me to light a match to a half million dollars and say I was being smart!
3% is kind of low, safe but low. With decent investing they potentially lost a lot more than that. Just look at the commodities market these days to get at least a small idea on what kind of money could've been made in that time. *Deletes his ramblings about the price of corn.*