Saturday night you win the powerball. Then what? (company, interest, money)

[City Guy997S]

Wow this thread is really full of bad advice!

1. LLC is no where near anonymous, most states have that info online (shareholders/directors/managers)....FAIL
2. Trusts are anonymous and as long as they don't claim it in the Donald E. Smith of Smalltown, USA Trust then it tends to be anonymous. One lady won 300+mm and called it the Rainbow Sherbert Trust because she went to buy ice cream and bought a single ticket when she was there. Only thing she blew it on was telling the media the story along with her name, age and even posed for a picture.....FAIL
3. Collect it in a trust, do not hold a press conference. Release a generic statement if you wish, the Trust's attorney collect the money. In naming the trust I personally love acronyms. NGTW Family Trust (Not Going To Work), media may think it is Nick, George and Tina Williams. Acronyms can mean something to you and interpreted totally different by others.
4. Tickets must be cashed in "IN THE STATE THEY WERE PURCHASED" so those who plan on jumping state lines to avoid state taxes or cash it anonymously (4-5 states allow anonymous winners) realize that plan is out the window.
5. Jackpot is 600mm/ 376.9 cash value means after 39.6% federal taxes you are only getting 227.6mm. Lotteries collect 25% Federal tax but you are still on the hook for another 14.6%.
6. Gifting- IRS allows a maximum tax free gift of $14,000 per person, so if you give someone 1mm then you owe the IRS $493,000 extra in taxes for giving the 1mm gift (1mm-14K X 50% gift tax). Note you can work around the numbers a bit with you lifetime exemption but that will go very quick with 227mm to "gift!" Also note if you are married then you and your spouse can gift someone 28K a year so 28K now and 28K on January 1st 2014 so they can get 56K tax free in the near term.
7. Beware.....As you can see many people are misinformed on this forum, your friends and family think you actually have 600mm in cash.....which clearly you do not! So even giving someone 1mm they will still think you are a cheapskate being that it is 1mm out of 600mm you got......
8. Delete social media, pics of you floating around will not help especially if your friends are congratulating you on your windfall on your facebook page.
9. If you do want to share with friends/family then set it up in the trust early on as a shareholder agreement (227 shares, you give 27 shares to family/friends each representing a million dollars net and you keep the 200). Then release a statement saying the jackpot was shared between 28 people, wow that would indicate that each person got about 8.1mm net......media won't care much about that. This is how the office pools/group winners do it and they frequently name it after their former job "Meatpackers Lucky 14" type thing.
10. Budget- 227- give away 27. 200 for yourself. Spend 20 on planes/mansions/yachts whatever. 180mm at 4% is still 7.2mm annually for life. If inflation hits, rates rise to 80's levels then 12% would give you 21.6mm a year. Give away the interest to charities, after all you will still have the principle. Invest in charities you have personally visited, seen what they do with the money. I personally would steer clear of charities with huge overhead costs (CEO making 500K a year type thing).

11. Your privacy is suddenly your most valuable asset. Lottery Winner = Sucker to most sales people, financial planners/professionals. If you give your friends/family a share, make them sign a confidentiality agreement that if they talk then they relinquish the money you gave them.


Fun Fact: FDIC insures accounts up to 250K.......but in a NON-INTEREST BEARING ACCOUNT the amount covered is unlimited. So short term you could put the whole 227mm in your non interest bearing checking account and be fully covered even if the bank went out of business. Personally I would just want a few ATM receipts to laugh at (227,000,000 balance)!

Good Luck to all who play!

[knurly]

^ at least I can take comfort in losing, and not aquiring the headache- all the above

Yet the question remains, where does all the money start from when they fork it over? It doesn't go into your pocket as a lump of gold. That big check is just for show, you aren't going to be lugging it around. I might imagine it is in an account held by the state. Why not just leave it there and draw checks on it?

[WhyCantI]

Put ticket in fire proof safe.

Hire a private jet to fly me to a secluded, guarded resort for rich people - rent a house for a week or two and make all my choices from there.

The goal would be to take care of immediate family, buy the biggest boat that is practical and travel the world for 3 or so years seeing everything I can and meeting all different kinds of people.

[Bluesmama]

Originally Posted by Cape Cod Todd

You just won Powerball Saturday night that might just hit 600 million! After you settle up with the tax man you will probably be left with 250 million.
What would you do?
Would you keep it quiet for as long as possible. You know the vultures will start circling when they find out your loaded.
Charity?
I think it is silly when people say that they will still work in their average 9-5. Really?
When I win I would start looking for a sweet house with a deep water salt water dock right out back, a multi car garage and a airport nearby where I can drive my Ferrari to so I can fly my biplane.
and of course travel to amazing places with my loved ones.

What would you do?

I would keep as low a profile as possible. I don't deal well with "vultures", so any of them ~ as well as relatives I never heard of ~ will see my less-pleasant sides, and it wouldn't be pretty.

I wouldn't go in to work and tell 'em to shove it. May even stick around long enough to train a replacement, as it would be the thoughtful thing to do for my co-workers. But after that training period I'd be GONE!

I would secure health insurance first thing. We'd buy a brand new pickup truck. I'd pay to get the front landscaping done professionally and take care of other misc property improvements.

I would keep my house, pay it off, and will it to a nephew. I'd move to a sunnier area and buy a nice but modest house (no McMansions for me). I would have a big garden and enjoy life.

Charities, yes, but not in huge amounts to any organizations. Most of mine would go towards helping individual situations. For example, if I read about a family suffering winter without heat, or about to get booted into the streets due to hard times, those are where I would like to help. I would donate to Meals on Wheels and probably concentrate more on things for the aging. At this point the only medical assoc I would donate to would be Alzheimer's.

Ah, yes, life would be good.

[jasper12]

It would be very interesting to see who comes around for a hand out. What old friends, who have put me on ignore for years.... What family members would immediately want to invite me to holidays?

I would find that all to be quite amusing.

My friend says that he would immediately get an accountant and money manager. Forget that. I can manage my money just fine. No one handles my money but me. And all those hedge funds, crooks, all of them. I would consider having several chairs in the name of my foundation, at various universities... I am trying to think of a most offensive name for my charity.... And see who is willing to sell out...

Maybe the ''Jerry Sandusky Scholarship Fund for Disadvantaged Boys''. LMAO

[Snort]

Originally Posted by jasper12

Maybe the ''Jerry Sandusky Scholarship Fund for Disadvantaged Boys''. LMAO

I think I can retire now. This forum has found someone sicker than me.

[geebabe]

City Guy997S - Your advice sounds legit and practical.

[jasper12]

Originally Posted by Snort

I think I can retire now. This forum has found someone sicker than me.

Sorry. Admittedly, in poor taste. I just wonder if a foundation had such a name, would those people who always want money, take the money or leave it? Where is the line on ethics and money? Would a University take fifty million from a charity like that?

[Amisi]

Well, I didn't hit. I only got the powerball number. Have no clue what that pays ($1?). Already ripped up the ticket and threw it away.

Back to my sh!tty existence.

[City Guy997S]

Originally Posted by Amisi

Well, I didn't hit. I only got the powerball number. Have no clue what that pays ($1?). Already ripped up the ticket and threw it away.

Back to my sh!tty existence.

You just tossed $3 away.....