Your 7 Biggest Lotto Winning Fears Answered
You've won the lottery. Great!
Now your problems start...
For example, what happens when you win big this Saturday - but you can't get into the lottery headquarters to present your ticket until Monday?
You can't put it into a safe deposit box because the banks are closed.
How do you keep it secure?
This kind of scenario often goes through the minds of many winners. So they sleep with the ticket under their pillow. Some others will put it in the fridge, thinking this will be the last place a burglar would look (wrong - skilled burglars are far more savvy than you realize!)
There are many other questions that winners wonder about.
Here are the top 7 problems, along with some solutions...
1. You lose your ticket.
Not good. You might lose your money, because to claim your prize you must present your winning ticket. Without your ticket, there is no proof of ownership, and this means you won't be able to collect your winnings. First step is to sign your ticket. By signing it acts as strong security against someone else trying to claim your prize if your ticket is lost or stolen. But usually your money is gone for good unless you have the physical ticket. Even a photocopy is unlikely to get accepted by the lottery organization.
2. Your ticket is stolen.
The obvious answer is not to tell a soul until you receive the check from the lottery organization. But you can protect it first by signing it with your name and address. Washington's Lottery explains: "Like currency or dollar bills, Lottery tickets are 'bearer instruments' in that the holder of the ticket is the owner, unless the ticket is signed. By signing the back of your Lottery ticket, you make the ticket officially 'yours'. Only the person whose name matches the signature on the ticket may claim its winnings." (From http://www.walottery.com/sections/winningnumbers/Default.aspx?Page=Claim#7)
3. You're asked to share a gift ticket proceeds.
There have been many cases where a lotto ticket was given as a gift, and the giver received nothing back in return. Since the prize is seen as 'found' money - money that cost little to obtain - so there will always be resentment that the giver didn't receive any part of the winnings. Why not split it with them? Even a 90/10 split will go a long way to keeping the friendship.
4. Your family makes claims.
As in (3), if you worry about your family claiming a portion of the prize, then why not split the money up equally among all the family?
5. You miss the expiry deadline.
Lottery tickets do expire, so you need to check the dates on the back of the ticket. If you miss the deadline, you're unlikely to get your prize. The best way is to make a regular trip to your lotto store after each game and have them put the tickets through their machine. You get added security by knowing there won't be any mistakes too.
6. You get discovered.
The Powerball website says you can't remain anonymous when you win one of their big prizes, and many other games have similar rules. The USA Powerball website FAQ says: "All but three states (DE, KS, ND) have laws that require the lottery to release the name and city of residence to anyone who asks. One state (SC) will keep your name secret if you request it, but if someone files a Freedom of Information Act request, you may have to file a plea with the judge to deny it. Another state (OK) now has a law that allows you to claim in a trust and to keep your name from the press (though the lottery will run checks on you)." (From http://www.powerball.com/pb_contact.asp)
Check out your own lottery website for its policy on keeping your name out of the media. It's worthwhile staying under cover for as long as you can.
7. You get begging letters.
Conceal your winning amount so you don't receive them, or move. Or ignore the letters. There's no secret to avoiding these letters except by not receiving them in the first place.
Watch out for these problems and take steps to minimize the effects. After all, spending your winnings is already stressful enough! :-)
Subscribe to my free Lotto-Tips newsletter
