Well, congratulations. We all hate you.
Actually, let us correct that; we all love you now, more than you've ever been loved before. But we may all end up hating you, eventually. And that's probably the bigger crisis.
But first, the fundamentals of being a new lottery winner.
Step one: Sign the ticket and call the lottery office.
Now.
If there’s a way to dispute ownership of that ticket, it’s going to happen — everything from claims of a verbal agreement to splitting the winnings to outright theft. This is particularly likely if you both play in your office pool and buy tickets separately. In 2012, a New Jersey judge ruled that a lottery winner had to part with some of the winnings because it wasn’t perfectly clear which tickets were his and which were in the office pool.
If you’ve identified a winning ticket, you need to get to lottery officials at once so they can identify you. The physical piece of paper in your hand is like carrying around a multimillion-dollar check. The risk of it being lost or stolen is too great to wait, particularly if you don’t follow step two.
Step two: Shut up.
Georgia is one of the few states that allows a lottery winner to remain anonymous. The others require a lottery winner to be announced publicly, and many of those states prohibit the use of third parties to claim a prize.
But the one consistent strain in the tales told about lottery winners — both those who have truly prospered and those who eventually fell to ruin — is they suddenly and permanently become the focus of unwanted attention. Family members will come to them looking for relief from their own financial hardships. Religious groups may ask you to share your blessings with the needy and the faithful. Charities you’ve never heard of will turn to you for help expanding. And among these supplicants will be straight-up charlatans looking to exploit your lack of experience with wealth.
Keep your win a secret for as long as you can. That’s the universal advice from winners.
Step three: Call a lawyer and a certified financial planner.
When the inevitable requests for money begin pouring in, you’re going to want to be able to deflect to someone who can politely say no. You’re also probably going to want to set up trusts that can manage contributions to charity and to your dependents in a tax-efficient manner. This will require the help of an estate planning attorney and a certified financial planner.
By the way, you’ll have to decide whether to take the lump sum payment or the annual award. Each approach is taxed differently, so talk to your financial advisor to figure out what is best for your situation.
The trusts are important, not just for tax and legal purposes, but because they put a decision-making layer between you and those demanding your help. This is not to say you should sign over the right to control the money. Never do that: Sign nothing that grants someone else the power to make significant disbursements from your accounts without your signature. But once the money is securely in your bank account, your biggest problems aren’t going to be financial anymore. They’re going to be about your relationships and your character. If you fail those tests, then you’ll have financial problems again.
Many of the stories of lottery winners broken by their good fortune stem from radical changes in their lifestyle.
People buy mansions, oblivious to the carrying costs of the property. Or they buy fancy cars without understanding the higher maintenance costs. Some people make large investments in legitimate-but-risky business ventures without fully understanding the likelihood of failure. Establishing relationships with trustworthy financial advisors is essential.
Step four: Hit the books.
Of course, it can be hard for a layperson to evaluate the trustworthiness and advice of one financial advisor over another. So … you need to stop being a layperson.
Resolve, now, before other financial commitments are made, to spend at least one year quietly learning the principles of financial management. Enroll in classes, start reading and the like. Perhaps more important, you’ll need to be able to tell people you’re not going to dig deep into the money until you’re confident you can use it wisely. Reasonable people will understand your thinking … and unreasonable people will out themselves with their reaction.
Now, for the fun stuff. What can your newfound purchasing power get you?
Well, if you’re the lucky owner of the winning ticket purchased in Buford on Wednesday and you take the lump sum, for example, you could have about $230.5 million in the bank after taxes. That puts you in the market to buy up a month’s worth of gold bars from Costco. The membership-only box store has been selling $100 million to $200 million in gold bars each month, according to Yahoo! Finance.
You could also buy Atlanta rapper Young Thug’s former Buckhead mansion. The estate is for sale for $2.675 million. He resided in the 10,118-square-foot mansion from 2016 to 2019, and it has been featured in music videos for rappers Lil Baby and MoneyBagg Yo and appeared in “The Real Housewives of Atlanta.”
Young Thug is on trial in Fulton County on gang and racketeering charges.
Your new tax bracket could allow you to hire assistants to help you with your daily tasks. If you have a remote job or if you decide to retire early, countless travel opportunities await you. And of course, you could always donate to the charities that are important to you.
About the Author
