What Should You Do if You Win the Lottery?
By Jeff Moffitt
@moffittjc (125519)
Gainesville, Florida
January 10, 2016 10:23am CST
There's a lot of buzz in the air right now about the Powerball Lottery here in the United States. The drawing last night was for a jackpot of over $900 million, which nobody won. That means the money rolls over to Wednesday's drawing, and the jackpot now stands at $1.3 billion.
We're all excited about winning the lottery (well, for those that play anyway). But have you ever really put any thought into what you would do if you actually won the lottery? Your life will be changed forever. It could be for the better, or it could be for the worse. Part of that depends on the steps you take in preparation.
I would suggest that, before you ever stepped forward to claim your prize, that you research, screen and hire a team of professionals to help you manage your new windfall. You will need a team of lawyers, tax professionals, accountants, estate planners, financial advisors, and more! This is for your benefit and protection, and to ensure that your financial affairs are handled properly once you receive that money!
Lottery officials estimate that 44% of lottery winners end up broke within five years! Can you imagine that? A big part of that has to do with money management! What good is winning the lottery if you don't set yourself up to succeed? It is best to plan ahead, and it is best to do it BEFORE you step forward to claim your prize!
The rules for claiming lottery winnings state that you have six months in which to claim your prize. I would suggest that you use those six months to get everything lined up and in order so that you are ready and prepared for when you claim your prize!
9 people like this
10 responses
@VivaLaDani13 (60811)
• Perth, Australia
23 Oct 17
@moffittjc I remember this lol My Texan friend was hoping to win it. lol no luck!
Mine is pretty basic. Help my family, friends and those we are in need. For orphanages, hospitals, the poor, the sick etc just spread it out as much as I can. And of course....go to Texas.
1 person likes this
@moffittjc (125519)
• Gainesville, Florida
23 Oct 17
I'm glad to see the Texas dream is still alive!
Hey, how are you doing health wise? Did you ever get your gallstones taken care of?
1 person likes this
@moffittjc (125519)
• Gainesville, Florida
23 Oct 17
@VivaLaDani13 Oh Dani, I'm so sorry to hear that you have been feeling sick every day. I know that is not a fun way to go through life. I do hope those doctors figure out what is going on so they can develop a treatment plan for you. Hang in there girl, you are strong enough to overcome all this!
1 person likes this
@VivaLaDani13 (60811)
• Perth, Australia
23 Oct 17
@moffittjc oh it will never die. 
hmmmm...well loooooooong story short. Seeing another doctor who is MUCH nicer and just better in general. We are starting from the beginning again to see if I get sick and in pain due to these stones.
My recent blood test showed that my white cells have elevated so now I'm due for another blood test to see why that is.
I really feel that this sickness and pains are from the stones or liver since that is inflamed too. Haven't had much pains lately but sickness is pretty much every day.
Other than that, still struggling a bit with depression but getting some more support coming my way which is positive.
hmmmm...well loooooooong story short. Seeing another doctor who is MUCH nicer and just better in general. We are starting from the beginning again to see if I get sick and in pain due to these stones.
My recent blood test showed that my white cells have elevated so now I'm due for another blood test to see why that is.
I really feel that this sickness and pains are from the stones or liver since that is inflamed too. Haven't had much pains lately but sickness is pretty much every day.
Other than that, still struggling a bit with depression but getting some more support coming my way which is positive.1 person likes this
@moffittjc (125519)
• Gainesville, Florida
10 Jan 16
I would probably set up a trust fund that has very stringent requirements that must be met before I could just withdraw money out of it. That way, I don't just go blowing all that money on frivolous things!
2 people like this
@pgiblett (6524)
• Canada
10 Jan 16
@moffittjc The key is ensuring that you don't blow it all, sure you should pay off all your debts, buy a yacht, get a new Mercedes, but otherwise live wisely.
2 people like this
@moffittjc (125519)
• Gainesville, Florida
10 Jan 16
@pgiblett Unfortunately, most people can't live wisely when they're poor, so how can they expected to live wisely when they suddenly become rich? lol
1 person likes this
@moffittjc (125519)
• Gainesville, Florida
10 Jan 16
I will probably give it one more try, and then that's it. It's been 20 years since I last bought a ticket before this week's lottery, so after the drawing on Wednesday I probably won't buy another ticket for another 20 years! lol
2 people like this
@moffittjc (125519)
• Gainesville, Florida
10 Jan 16
@Elizaby Even if there are multiple winners, at $1.3 billion dollars there is plenty of money to go around!
1 person likes this
@Elizaby (6902)
• Pensacola, Florida
10 Jan 16
@moffittjc I very, very rarely but lotto (probably like you you can count on one hand the number of times you played. Most likely if history proves right from other big lotto jackpots there will be several winnners
1 person likes this
@AbbyGreenhill (45494)
• United States
10 Jan 16
Just what they say on TV:
sign the ticket
lock it in a safe
get a good attorney
get a good financial expert.....(I already have one)
I won't keep my job, I don't have one.
I would donate millions to:
St. Jude
and every lab rescue group I can think of
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@AbbyGreenhill (45494)
• United States
10 Jan 16
@moffittjc LOL, I filled i the gap so to speak!
2 people like this
@moffittjc (125519)
• Gainesville, Florida
10 Jan 16
You mentioned something VERY important that I forgot to include in my post...SIGN the ticket and secure it the best way you can! Thanks for mentioning that!
2 people like this
@whiteream (8567)
• United States
11 Jan 16
Even though I hardly ever play. I would use the money to start two businesses. I have always wanted my own Spiritual shop and my husband likes to work on guitars. I would also open up a dog shelter and train the dogs to help people with stress.
1 person likes this
@Marilynda1225 (86181)
• United States
11 Jan 16
@whiteream those all sounds like such good ideas. Hopefully you can accomplish these without having to win the lottery
@moffittjc (125519)
• Gainesville, Florida
12 Jan 16
@Marilynda1225 I was thinking that we don't all need to sit around and wait to win the lottery to help out with all these great causes. We can donate time or even small amounts of money to worthy causes, and make an impact. We may think our individual donation is miniscule, but when added up with everybody else's donations, it becomes significant!
1 person likes this
@whiteream (8567)
• United States
17 Jan 16
@moffittjc That is true even the smallest amount to do help. I know from your past post that you, like I do, do a lot to help out.
1 person likes this
@porwest (107490)
• United States
7 Sep
I can tell you this, the LAST thing I am going to do is hire a team of 'professionals' to tell me what to do with that money. ESPECIALLY financial planners. They don't know anything. lol. Now granted, I have an advantage. I already know about money and what to do with it. Most people don't. But I pity the fool who will rely on a team of people to "manage" their money. Anyway...
1 person likes this
@moffittjc (125519)
• Gainesville, Florida
12 Sep
With your financial knowledge, I would be worried if you told me you had hired a team of financial planners!
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@porwest (107490)
• United States
13h
@moffittjc Makes me wonder if there's a "What If I Won the Lottery for Dummies" in the series. I bet there is. lol
@moffittjc (125519)
• Gainesville, Florida
10 Jan 16
I think if you won the Powerball lottery, you would find that you will still have a few dollars left over after taking care of your family and close friends!
1 person likes this
@Marilynda1225 (86181)
• United States
11 Jan 16
Winning such a huge lottery would require an expert financial person, lawyer and witness protection so long lost friends and relatives couldn't find you
@moffittjc (125519)
• Gainesville, Florida
12 Jan 16
I like your idea of the witness protection program! With such a huge jackpot, it may seriously be needed by the next winner!
@moffittjc (125519)
• Gainesville, Florida
10 Jan 16
I respect that! I generally don't ever play the lottery either, because I am very happy and content with the small salary I currently make. I'm not greedy for millions! But, I did buy lottery tickets this past week just for the fun of it! I'm not going to lie and say I wouldn't want to win the jackpot, but if I did I would still live a pretty modest life, and end up giving most of the money away to worthwhile charity organizations.
2 people like this
@Poppylicious (11133)
•
10 Jan 16
In the UK I think all those people are provided by the Lottery company with immediate effect. Besides, anybody who can lose an insane $1.5 billion in five years seriously didn't deserve the money in the first place {which really goes for any major amount of money}, but did deserve to lose it!
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