What To Do If You Hit The Powerball
5 min read
A record breaking jackpot of $1.3 BILLION dollars in the Powerball is set to be drawn soon gripping the country’s greed at the core. With that amount of money your life will not only change but be transformed over night into a world no one has any idea how to live. The majority of big jackpot winners lose it all in the first 5 years because they can’t say No. There are a few vital steps you need to follow if you hit the Billion dollar jackpot if you want to keep your money and collect it properly.
WHEN YOU WIN
- SIGN YOUR TICKET NOW! – Win or lose sign the back of your ticket now. In the heat of a win you will forget. As soon as you sign it it’s yours. Take another step and take a picture of the front and back after you sign it. The last thing you want is to lose the ticket and someone else claiming it.
- TELL NO ONE – If you win, tell no one. Do not post it on social media, don’t call your family, don’t tell your BFF, keep it to yourself until the next steps are in place. A big jackpot makes people do crazy things, your friends might be trusted but the people they will tell may not be and you don’t want visitors. That little slip of paper is worth more than your life to some. Stay quiet, stay safe.
- HIRE A LAWYER IMMEDIATELY – Get on Google and hire the top business law firm in your city. At 10/11pm (after the drawing) keep calling firms until someone answers. Don’t give out too many details on voicemail, only your name, number and that you have an immediate business need for representation and you will hire the first firm that calls you back. You can and probably will change lawyers later but now you need some legal protection.
- HAVE THE LAWYER HIRE SECURITY FOR YOU – If you are paranoid get a security guard to park outside your house. Get a police escort to the law firm with the ticket and to the lottery office which is probably a good drive from where you live. In Minnesota, no matter where you are, you need to get the ticket to Roseville, MN.
- LINE UP A FINANCIAL PLANNER – You can’t handle this. Get a planner standing by.
- CHANGE YOUR CONTACT INFO – Change your phone number and unlist it, switch cell numbers, change email addresses, do anything you can to pivot away from your old life and dodge the tsunami of people, media and scammers that will come looking for you. You can reconnect with friends and family later but for the immediate time you need to go dark.
- HIRE A PR FIRM – Buffer yourself from talking to anyone.
- IF YOU CAN, DON’T PUBLICLY ACCEPT THE WINNINGS – Some states allow anonymous collection others do not. If you can, don’t get your name attached to this.
AFTER COLLECTION
- TAKE THE ANNUAL PAYMENTS – You are missing out on tens of millions taking it all up front. Why do you need $400+ million in cash right now? You don’t. The annual payouts will be around $40+ million a year. One year’s payment is enough for the rest of your life and you get 30 of them. Be smart not emotional.
- PAY OFF YOUR DEBTS FIRST – Your house, cars, loans, gambling, whatever. Clear it all. Never use credit again, cash payments here on out. If you need a loan with millions in the bank, don’t buy it.
- SETUP FUNDS FOR COLLEGE – If you have kids or plan to have kids get college and their lives setup next. If you are grandparents do that for your immediate grandchildren. If you end up blowing it at least the future of some will be set.
- SETUP THE MAJORITY OF YOUR WINNINGS INTO LONG TERM INVESTMENTS – You can’t blow your cash when you tie it up. Live off the interest of $40 million/yr. Plenty to do whatever you want.
- LEARN TO SAY NO TO EVERYONE – You will be begged for years. Sob stories, relatives turning into bloodsuckers, charities, everyone with a reason will approach you. Say No. There will be plenty of time to be charitable and help others, now is not the time. Take an extra step to setup your financial planner and/or lawyer as a custodial approver to any withdrawals or payments from your accounts. If and when you help others never do it in cash. Pay the bills directly, setup college funds under the children’s name, send the investments to the bank yourself. Don’t give cash and expect the recipient to use it for the intended purpose. Require a plan from those asking, spreadsheets with a breakdown of the amounts being asked for, invoices or debts that they owe and if you choose help them directly with their debtors not flat cash in their pockets.
- MAKE NO INVESTMENT DECISIONS WITHOUT A TEAM – Don’t dump $10 million into providing wetsuits for seals. Have a team of folks that know what they are doing before you put a penny into anything.
- BUY THE TOYS LAST AND WITHIN REASON – Of course you are going to get the big house, the nice cars, travel, but be smart about it. Your investments will continue growth of the winnings without smart investment plan you have nothing more than a big piggy bank that never refills. The mortgaged $200 million home still needs to be paid for and your winnings will disappear quickly.
After all that is secured and settled now you can ride the publicity if you choose. If you do, with the largest lottery jackpot in the world, you will be sought after for interviews, talk shows, reality shows, and everyone will want to get a chance to talk to you. Do so or not, but the more you are out in the public view the worse your life may get. If you surround yourself with the right people it can be done, try to go it alone and you will be shredded and broke in a few years.
Good luck.
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Binary Blogger has spent 20 years in the Information Security space currently providing security solutions and evangelism to clients. From early web application programming, system administration, senior management to enterprise consulting I provide practical security analysis and solutions to help companies and individuals figure out HOW to be secure every day.
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