Although I’ve never thought about having a chance to win the lottery I’d be lying when I claim that I’ve didn’t think about what could occur if I were to win the life-changing jackpot. Much like many of my fellow lottery participants, I’m not convinced I’m prepared for the next thing that could happen.
Every year, there’s news of another million-dollar winner who was broke (or more so) because they weren’t prepared to handle their fortune and expectations that come with it.
Everyone doesn’t want to think about the big win in the lottery and say, “That’s when everything started to go wrong.” However, with careful planning and the right attitude, nobody has to.
If you’ve recently won the biggest jackpot, now is the time to know what you need to take in case of a major lottery win: before claiming your prize as well as during the process of claiming the prize as well as after the faucet begins to flow.
How to Claim Your Prize
The ability to sustain luck is built on a solid base. Once you have confirmed that your ticket is a winner before you rush out in search of your reward be patient.
While you are taking steps to safeguard the prize and your identity seek out reliable experts. They can assist you with managing your wealth, and help you avoid making major life or career shifts.
- Secure Your Tickets
Before you do anything else, make sure you take steps to secure your lottery-winning ticket. If you lose the ticket and cannot later prove that you are the rightful owner, you’ll be back to where you began.
As a minimum create the ticket on paper as well as digital copies of the ticket. Ideally, you should keep them in two secure locations: a cloud storage account, and an external storage device. If you need to, purchase a safe or home lockbox or keep the ticket in a security deposit bank.
- Don’t be rushed to claim your prize
Do not rush to claim your winnings from the lottery when you’ve secured your winning ticket. This is important for two reasons.
If your prize is substantial enough to draw the attention of the media, claiming your prize within a week after the announcement could cause a greater disturbance than is needed. And, perhaps even more important waiting for at least a week before claiming your prize will give you time to plan for the events that will follow.
You can stay longer than a week should you want. Lotteries typically allow winners between six and twelve months to claim prizes however, you must check with the authority that issued the regulations to make sure you’ve had enough time to claim your prize as they say.
- Don’t quit your job Or Spread News Of Your Good Fortune
As tempting as it is, however, the time between the realization that you’ve got a winning lottery ticket until you go to claim your prize isn’t exactly the best time to leave your job.
In reality, you should not tell anyone else than you and your immediate family (aside from your children, who may boast) about your success and, most importantly, your colleagues.
The last thing you’ll need for the boss to start seeking a replacement for you based if you’ve been laid off and are soon to leave for good. However, there’s a slight chance that you’re wrong about the winning ticket. It could be that the data isn’t correct or you’ve misread a vital number.
- Hire Professionals
You’re probably not a tax lawyer or a family planning attorney or a certified accountant. If you’re lucky enough to have a jackpot win and you win, it’s important to be surrounded by these four types of experts within a short time. Particularly, you’re searching for:
A professional in tax law who is specialized in helping clients who require significant incomes reduce tax liabilities without attracting the attention of the IRS
An estate or family law planning attorney who is skilled in the creation of documents to plan your estate, including trusts, wills as well as Prenuptial Agreements. You can also manage the preparation of these documents on the internet through Trust and will.
A fee-based Financial advisor and financial advisor, sworn to be fiduciary (acting in the best interests in your financial affairs and not theirs) or with prior extensive experience in managing assets
An accountant certified by the public, who can help wealthy families to manage their finances. He will help you navigate what’s most likely to be a complex tax preparation process for the year.
If you are uncomfortable with any advice you get seek another opinion even if you are required to pay per hour for professional advice. It’s affordable now.
Tips for the Pro If you’re considering hiring an advisor in the field of finance to help you through the major decisions you’re likely to face look into the SmartAsset. Answer a few simple questions to get the three most vetted advisors within your area.