What would you do with $250 million bucks...

[tigergem]

All spending aside...

I think this person is already in trouble. No one should be claiming a lottery prize within 5 days of the drawing. Seems no planning was done. First thing to do is hire an attorney. Second a financial planner.

Right. I wouldn't be in any hurry to claim it, that's for sure. I'd put it off as long as possible. I think you have a year, right? I'd definitely do a lot of planning first.

I would copy and scan it, front and back, lock it in a safe deposit box, and start making visits and phone calls looking for help first.

[junker]

why would anyone want to get a lawyer involved....they would take that ol country boy to the cleaners..probably want at LEAST 1/2 of winnings for retainer....and when after taxes you still get your self 100million or so on a 1 buck ticket i would say he did some fantastic financial planning.....take it all in cash from the bank, buy yourself a uzi, and enjoy it.....dont give it to lawyers...

[justbroke]

why would anyone want to get a lawyer involved...

Many multi-million dollar lottery winners are sued. For all sorts of things like an equitable claim to the proceeds because you once said "if I ever win, I'll give you...". Seriously. Also, the lawyer will do a few things for you.

First, get you immediately protected. This means getting things like LifeLock and locking down your credit agency records. Second, they go about locking your bank accounts and moving them accounts into the "wealth management" areas of the bank. Third, create either one or more Estates, living trusts, revocable trusts, blind trusts, irrevocable trusts or LLCs to further insulate you and your businesses! (Especially if you are currently in business.)

These things are extremely important. If you don't think a lawyer is important, you'll probably end up losing a bunch of money due to litigation.

[tigergem]

That's what I was going to say, but JB beat me to it.

[andy158]

I pity the individual for the previous mentioned reasons. His life is no longer his own. That much money in a lump sum is dangerous! Most people who come into a windfall like that are in no way prepared to handle the problems that come with it. Granted the wealth is a good thing with proper planning and conmmon sense, but a lot of people are broke in a few years because of excessive squandering. Relatives and friends will constantly hound this poor man. Phone calls will not stop. Almost like being on the brink of bk only money is the problem not debt. The key is to not drastically change your lifestyle, retain a good lawyer, accountant, financial planner and you will be financially secure in your early retirement. I read about the wrecked lives of people who won large lotteries and hope this individual is not destined the same fate.

[Jackdog]

Unfortunately for him unless he gets smart quick he'll be broke within ten years. He turned in the ticket the very next day, which means he didn't set up any type of account to put the money in. He didn't speak with a lawyer, an accountant, or a financial adviser. That kind of money you need to have a plan and people hired to help you and other people to make sure the ones you've hired are doing their job properly. Before I turned in that kind of ticket. I would have lawyers, accountants, a financial adviser, and a few accounts in place. I'd change my phone number and have everything in motion to move to a different state. There are lots of people who win the lottery and you never hear the horror stories about them. It's the ones that do no planning you hear about and this poor guy sounds like he could be on that same path.

Staying in the town you live or even state is a big no. You have to move. You will still be haunted but staying in the same town it will be much worse. Look at the guy in WV that won. He was an idiot. Jack Whittaker's his name. He stayed in the same town and would drive around with LARGE sums of money. One night while at a strip club thieves broke into his truck and stole 545k he had just sitting in the car. Makes no sense. Who in their right mind leaves let alone has 545k on them. His grand daughter OD'd. He bought her cars and was giving her (a 17 year old) a 5k week allowance. His daughter the mother of his grand daughter is also dead now. It's just crazy the way he threw that kind of money around. I would of baker acted his butt if he were my husband.

[justbroke]

You hit the nail on the head Jackdog. I would only add one thing. You move away from your home immediately to avoid people knowing where you are. Preferably, you move out of the town you're in and make arrangements to move to another State. If you can, use the 4-8 weeks before you claim the prize, to setup all those special accounts and find your new place to live. Definitely change your numbers, even if they are already unlisted. Matter of fact, get NEW numbers without "changing" them. Leave no trail.

If you think just random people are the worse... it will be your family and friends who will bleed you dry. Just had a case here in Central Florida where they kidnapped and murdered a 2008 Florida lottery winner. Yes... it's that bad, and he only won $30 million.

At least Whitaker has been vocal about how the $300+ million he won is a curse.

[junker]

you read in the papers all the time about managers and such stealing from their clients.....whats to say he wont get taken to the cleaners by the very people YOU say are there to help him....lawyers, financial advisors..etc...the man has 250 mil....maybe 100 after tax.....there are people at the bigger banks that help with your money for free...why should he take a chance with a lawyer thats no doubt is going to rip him.....we all know they are jackals....why do you encourage someone to see one/?? if and when he gets sued ...THEN if necessary hire a jackal....otherwise put the money in 5 different banks and enjoy it......since he was a clerk at 7/11....odds are his financial planning consisted of a quick pick every lotto day....there are INVESTORS all over the area i live going bust everyday....losing massive amounts of money.....come on what can a high priced financial advisor do for this guy....except help take him down the tubes.....he can do bad all by himself.....

[Jackdog]

you read in the papers all the time about managers and such stealing from their clients.....whats to say he wont get taken to the cleaners by the very people YOU say are there to help him....lawyers, financial advisors..etc...the man has 250 mil....maybe 100 after tax.....there are people at the bigger banks that help with your money for free...why should he take a chance with a lawyer thats no doubt is going to rip him.....we all know they are jackals....why do you encourage someone to see one/?? if and when he gets sued ...THEN if necessary hire a jackal....otherwise put the money in 5 different banks and enjoy it......since he was a clerk at 7/11....odds are his financial planning consisted of a quick pick every lotto day....there are INVESTORS all over the area i live going bust everyday....losing massive amounts of money.....come on what can a high priced financial advisor do for this guy....except help take him down the tubes.....he can do bad all by himself.....

The simple fact that he claimed the ticket the very next day shows he has no clue. I'm not saying hire one attorney or one accountant or even one financial adviser. I'd hire a few and I'd have someone I hired to make sure they were all doing exactly what they should. Not all lawyers are jackals as you put it. I'd had a living trust and most of it tied to funds. When you come into that kind of money you need to make sure your bases are covered. Otherwise you'll be getting sued left and right. You aren't thinking right. You aren't thinking about all the people from your past coming forward claiming you promised them such and such. To win that kind of money and to just say screw it I'll just open five different accounts with $170 million in them total you are crazy imo.

[junker]

claiming it the next day or 6 months later..will not make a difference....with that amount of money the press will be all over him...the attention he will get from the immediate publicity..will not be any different later.. in fact maybe more as everyone will be waiting to see who turns in that kind of money ticket...it happens all the time here....on the calif lotto...when it is huge..people try and wait but the press is still there....i still say he can do bad all by himself without hiring people to protect him from other people ...and jackals to protect him from other jackals..where does it end? .....he just looks like a good ole boy...who would be happy knowing he could get a 12 pack everyday and sit under a tree...maybe go fishing.....he definitely does need to disappear though.....

[onwards]

The real challenge with winning a big lottery like that is that for most people, the amount of money is one they cannot possibly process. You don't need $100M to sit under a tree every day with a 12-pack; you don't even need $1M for that.

Sure, you can "spend it", but what does that mean? $100M in the bank "produces" an additional $10,000 PER DAY just in interest, on top of the original amount. It's very hard to spend that much money in a wasteful way - at some point, you run out of things to spend it on, and the big ticket items (like a big house) are assets that don't evaporate down the road. It's that phase where people go astray; they just start giving it away because it's not real for them, and then others take advantage of that mindset, and in a few years, it's all gone.

THAT is why a solid investment bank is important. Yes, it means putting the money in the hands of the good folks at, say, Merrill Lynch, rather than a "financial advisor" (amazing how many of those turn out at the doorstep of the winner, all with fantastic pitches). At the very least, the Merrill folks will work for you; whether they succeed or not is a different matter, but in the end, they won't steal from you outright. Even at $100M, you're too small a fish for them to bother, and they are perfectly happy to make a couple million off you in fees, increasing as they build up your little treasure chest every year, till kingdom come. Or set up a family office. Heck, do both, and rope the former into the latter.

That's just a start. Thing is, most people have no clue what a family office is, or why giving the money to those evil bankers they have been afraid of all their lives makes sense, or a number of other mostly psychological issues. And so they end up shooting themselves in the foot. That's sad, really, and it's why I tend to dislike the mega-lottery concept. I think it is absolutely abhorrent that mega-lotteries do not also include solid financial hand holding as part of a big ticket. Of course, that's not what they want; from the state's perspective (and remember, it's the state running the lottery), they would much rather the money gets put back into the state economy in a wasteful way as soon as possible rather than used to build a private legacy. And so the wheel turns.

[WhatMoney]

Good advice onwards. This lottery winner is in the "Ultra-High-Wealth" category of clients. He needs to deal with only the most experienced banks in this area: JPMorganChase, Goldman Sachs, Citibank, UBS, and Credit Suisse for example.

Unfortunately this guy is a completely unsophistcated small town loser who is more likely to take the advice of some redneck advisor or friend - because he doesn't trust those large international banks with their wealth management expertise. And with an ex wife, a girl friend, and 4 kids from the women, he is going to need more than one good lawyer. I predict he'll be broke in 5 years.

[justbroke]

When I wrote "financial" planner, I did say go to the Wealth Management department at the bank. This is very different from the other "planners" out there. Typical "true" wealth management departments won't talk to you unless you have $5MM in liquid assets.

[tigergem]

I predict he'll be broke in 5 years.

You really reckon it will take that long?

[WhatMoney]

When I wrote "financial" planner, I did say go to the Wealth Management department at the bank. This is very different from the other "planners" out there. Typical "true" wealth management departments won't talk to you unless you have $5MM in liquid assets.

Right. UBS wealth management will only take clients with over $10 Million in liquid assets. They have specialists w/ a legal staff for clients over $100 Million in assets. There are many wealthy clients in the world. I wonder who advises Bill Gates and Warren Buffet?