If you won the lottery, would you tell anyone?

[simple girl]

Here's a story for you. DH plays the lotto 2X a week. One week he misplaced his punchcard and ended up not playing.

Well, wouldn't you know, all 6 numbers hit that night.

We would have won a minimum of $1000/wk for life.

OK, so after being thoroughly depressed for several weeks...we have accepted this and moved on. However, it made us think. If we had won, would we have told anyone? We have some family members that would feel entitled and want us to bail them out of their messed up lives indefinitely (they already try this, and we've "paid" them off by giving them enough $$ that they know better than to come to the well again).

Just curious how others would handle this, if it happened to them.

And, words of sympathy much appreciated for our "loss". Yikes.

 

[Meadbh]

Great question (and my condolences on your loss!)

I wouldn't tell anyone unless it was a trivial amount of money. If it was a fortune, it would clinch the RE deal and I would buy the retirement home I want, resign, and move there ASAP.

 

[2B]

I would personally try to not tell anyone but they always publically announce the winner. Somebody would eventually find out in your family.

An alternative approach would be to hit your family up for a loan because you're about to be foreclosed on. If they bring up the lottery, you can say it can't be you. It must be another Mr. Simple Girl. If you had won, you wouldn't be losing your house. Donate the house to charity.

After that, buy a motor home and tool around the country for a year. Call every couple weeks to tell them you found a job on the night shift as a waitress at a different truck stop. You never know. They might even send you a few bucks.

 

[DangerMouse]

I definitely wouldn't tell anyone, nor would I feel obliged to help any family members out by giving them lumps sums if they did find out. The type of family I come from, if you gave any of them a million bucks a year later it would be gone with nothing to show for it. However, I would help them out financially in other ways i.e. I would buy houses that they could reside in rent free, would not give them the title to the house as that would enable them to borrow against it. I would meet educational costs for children etc.

I do sympathise with the starter of this thread who came so close yet it was so far, I too play the lottery but only ever do computer generated picks as I would hate to find myself in a similar situation. By having random selections I never feel bad if I do miss a draw or two.

 

[Khan]

In some cases (don't know details) a lottery winner can form a trust and have the lawyer accept the winnings into the trust.

 

[wabmester]

I would tell everyone, and then sell them the secrets to my number picking system for only $99.

 

[lazygood4nothinbum]

Well, wouldn't you know, all 6 numbers hit that night.

similar story from my sil twice already. i said: "and what do you think the world is trying to tell you about gambling?"

me? i'd tell everyone i know and like. i'd invite them all out of a chartered yacht for the day and each would get an evelope with $12k or whatever the tax-free gift happened to be when i won that $50mil lotto. so you all better be nice to me or you won't get an invite.

 

[Zoocat]

What a fun question! I'd tell my relatives, but I wouldn't announce it to the world. I'd get a lawyer to redeem the ticket for me. And of course I'd bail out my relatives. I'd love to be able to give them as much as I could!

 

[W2R]

Sure, I'd tell people. I'd try not to brag or shout it to the stars, but I'd tell the same people that I'd tell if I got a tax refund.

If they hit me up for money, or otherwise handled it just as poorly in some other way, then that would probably be the last time they'd see me.

Life's too short to spend my time with people like that.

 

[Cattusbabe]

Depends on the size of the fortune. A big power ball payout is hard to keep quiet even with setting up a trust and having a lawyer picking up the money. If its anything under a million I wouldn't say jack. Heck most of the family knows we've FIRED but have not seen much of a change in our life styles so they don't bother us. We keep the particulars to ourselves. It never pays to flash the cash IMO.

 

[Peaceful_Warrior]

I would have no problem telling anybody about my winnings. Especially since I would invest everything and then retire -- my coworkers, friends, and family would know anyways.

That said, I also don't have friends/family who would "expect a piece of the action." I'm sure us buying dinner every time we go out would be plenty generous enough for them. Of course, just because they wouldn't expect it is not to say we wouldn't share it... I'm sure we'd help out our parents to make sure they could retire too.

 

[NinjaPigeon]

Nope. No good can come of letting people know about your sudden windfall. They will suddenly all be your best friend...

 

[Ed_The_Gypsy]

You don't have a choice.

Lotteries have to publish who the winners are to eliminate the hint of scandal.

The rascals will know who you are.

Make your plans accordingly.

 

[bssc]

We have a trust and the powerball can be awarded to a trust. I would tell everyone that DW got an early retirement package from her MegaCorp and she would tell everyone that my MegaCorp gave me an early retirement. I would give money to my sisters but would funnel it through my parents who already give them money.

 

[Nords]

You guys are good. I'm still trying to decide if my spouse would find out!

Gee, I wonder if she plays the lottery...

 

[Tadpole]

I have lost many a night's sleep worrying over this precise question. I have arrived at the following solution. There is no way to stop the advertising of one's name since it is advertising for the lottery or to prevent the stalking that takes place afterwards until the money is gone. I only buy tickets for the over $200M lotteries. I have a preplanned gift to relatives and friends that leaves me comfortable. I will then get a shopping cart and move from my middle class home to the streets where I will pretend to be a bag lady. Reporters will use me in articles and books as an example of how lottery winnings are quickly spent. But, even though I am cold and hungry, I will still be rich and no one will know. I'm not too worried to sleep now; I have a plan.

 

[Outtahere]

I don't play often but when I do I've thought about it. I'd have to tell them because they would find out at some point. Depending on the amount I would give some to family with the understanding that what they get is what they get and once that's gone it's too bad. I would then change my phone numbers and move far away.

 

[Kitty]

I have thought about winning the big one from time to time, not as much since I retired though.

My relatives know I am a tightwad when it comes to money, not that I haven't done my share of bail outs, the daughter-in-law with my grandkids comes to mind. She couldn't hold on to a buck if you glued it to her hand.

I don't care who knows, can you remember who won the last big one or the one before that? The big brew haa haa dies down in a few months and that should be about the time I return from my trip to ?

I would form a trust, of course I would be in charge of the trust for life. The trust would have its meetings where ever the chairperson (me) desires. An education fund would be set up for the grandchildren. I would help some charities and endow a school if there were enough money to do so.

I don't have to worry about the kids knowing about the big win they are to dull to read a paper and usually to drunk to stay awake for the TV late news.

Kitty

 

[simple girl]

I don't have to worry about the kids knowing about the big win they are to dull to read a paper and usually to drunk to stay awake for the TV late news.

Kitty

LOL. I can relate. We live far away from both sides of the family, so if we won a state lotto, they likely wouldn't hear about it. I think. Now if it were a multi-million one, well, there's no way you could keep that out of the national presses.

This one that we missed was a state lotto. It would have been enough to FIRE, but not enough to throw $ around. We keep telling ourselves, well, at least we can actually amass this kind of $ ourselves (in several more years, though!) in time...if it had been a multi-million $ lotto it would have been even tougher.

 

[lets-retire]

Me and the DW have talked about this a couple times. The only family who would receive money would be our parents. It would be an amount exactly equaling the outstanding balance on their house. If any of them comes begging for more it would be very difficult to give them any. The reason is all of them have mortgages and paying that off would save them a load of money per month. That would essentially give them a pay raise. If they are so foolish with money to not be able to live on more than they were living on before they do not deserve more money.

The point is mute now. The state we live in doesn't have a lottery and I'm not driving an hour to buy a ticket.

 

[TromboneAl]

This question isn't really hypothetical for many on this forum. Although not won through a lottery, many here have 1-2 million or more.

 

[dex]

I think you can avoid the publicy to some degree.

Once you win you have a time period to claim the prize.

Wait a month; show up a the lottery office to claim the prize and have it direct deposited to your bank account. Leave the lottery office without posing for pictures and give the Lottery head a letter saying you do not want your name released to the press.

Then you have two options.
Stay at home and keep your mouth shut about the winnings and see if anyone finds out. If you have a job you can continue working, or screw up and get fired; or quit and tell people you got fired.

Or, buy a ticket to Europe and travel around for awhile - 1 year; then go home if you wish.

 

[tryan]

Not only would I not tell anybody, but I wouldn't play to ensure I never have to "worry" about winning.

Don't want to be known as the "lucky b@stard" who won the lottery. No respect in being the "lucky b@stard".

 

[FinanceDude]

You guys are good. I'm still trying to decide if my spouse would find out!

Gee, I wonder if she plays the lottery...

You could put it in a "NRITS" trust account (Non-Reportable Income To Spouse)...................

 

[SecondCor521]

Don't play -> can't win -> not a problem.

2Cor521