Your dreams have finally come true—you won the lottery. You’re either jumping for joy while screaming at the top of your lungs, or you’re staring blankly at the ticket experiencing both shock and awe. Once the initial shock factor has settled in and before you make any rash decisions, you need to do a few things as soon as possible to ensure that you receive your winnings.
Sign the ticket.
This may seem strange, but once you’ve found a winner, it’s a good idea to sign the back of it. According to a spokesperson for the New York Lottery, a lottery ticket belongs to whomever signs it and presents a photo ID while turning it in. If you lose the ticket but you signed it, nobody else will be able to collect your winnings.
Put the ticket somewhere safe.
You need to make sure that you put the ticket somewhere safe. There are a few things that you need to do before you claim the money, so it’s very important that you don’t lose the ticket in the meantime.
Keep a low profile.
This may be the most difficult thing to do, as you want nothing more than to tell everyone you know. The problem is that the more people who know, the more people who will come asking for handouts, including those you don’t even know. Even worse, the more it puts your life in jeopardy from some greedy individual who wants to take it all away from you.
Meet with a financial planner.
Before you turn in the ticket (you usually have between 90 and 365 days to claim your winnings), you should meet with a financial advisor. Before discussing what to do with the money, you should first discuss the different options for claiming your prize. With the lottery, you can either receive all of the money in one giant sum, or you can receive it in smaller sums spread out over time. The taxes you pay will depend on which way you opt to receive the money. If you take the lump sum, you’ll need to pay taxes right away. If you spread it out over time, you’ll pay taxes only on the money you receive. If you want to invest some of the money, you will also want to talk over your options with your financial advisor. They can help you set up the best accounts and investments for your goals.
Hire a lawyer.
You will need to hire a lawyer to help you through all the legalities that come with winning the lottery. To be safe, you may want to use a lawyer that you’ve already worked with. If you’ve never needed a lawyer before, ask close friends or family members for advice, but you may want to refrain from telling them why. You can always perform your own search for a lawyer too if you don’t receive any valuable leads.
Contact the lottery.
Once you have your plan in place and your team of advisors all set up, you will need to contact the lottery to let them know that you’ve won. You can contact either the head office or one of their regional branches, depending on where you live. Depending on your state, you may be able to claim your winnings anonymously, but some states, like New York, make this information public record. So if you were keeping a low profile, you may not be able to for long.
Ensuring that you keep your ticket safe and hire all the right people is essential if you win the lottery. Make sure to keep a low profile, or you’ll be getting calls for handouts from complete strangers.
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