*UPDATE* $1.28 Billion Cash Option: $747.2 Million Next Drawing: Friday, 7/29 @ 11 p.m. ET

Pack Rat

Imperturbable
BGOL Investor
  • The top prize for Tuesday night's drawing marks the fourth-largest lottery jackpot ever. It has surged to $810 million — up from an earlier estimated $790 million.
  • The cash option, which most jackpot winners choose instead of an annuity, is $470.1 million.
  • However, a big piece of that would end up going to taxes.
If you manage to beat the odds and land the next Mega Millions jackpot, don't forget that Uncle Sam will snatch a slice of the windfall.

The top prize has surged to $810 million for Tuesday night's drawing — up from an earlier estimated $790 million — after no ticket matched all six numbers pulled Friday night. If won at that amount, it would mark the fourth-largest lottery prize ever awarded.

And, it would come with a sizable tax bill. Whether the prize is taken as an annuity of 30 payments over 29 years or as an immediate, reduced cash lump sum, taxes end up taking a big bite out of any winnings.
 

geechiedan

Rising Star
BGOL Investor
....depends on the state, fam

How to Stay Anonymous When You Win the Lottery


Only seven states—Delaware, Kansas, Maryland, North Dakota, Ohio, South Carolina, Texas, and likely soon Georgia—allow winners to shield their identities. A handful of other states, like California and Wisconsin, entirely forbid winners to remain anonymous, “and then there are the states with gray areas,” says Jason Kurland, an attorney in East Meadow, New York, who has represented jackpot winners in the past. Depending on where you live, you can “form a trust and hide behind that. Your lawyer can be the face of the trust.”

Now this is exactly what Jane Doe, in New Hampshire, did—but she had already signed her lottery ticket in her own name, and lottery officials have refused to let her white out her name and re-sign in the name of the trust.

Most advisors instruct the winner to sign the ticket immediately so the ownership is indisputable—does the New Hampshire case mean that the lucky holder of the winning Powerball ticket shouldn’t sign the back of the ticket? Kurland notes that leaving the ticket unsigned, and risking someone (even your lawyer) stealing it, is a big risk. His solution? “Sign it, but sign it small. Then you can add trustees, or several trustees, and the name of the trust.”

Once you’ve signed, find a trusts and estates attorney in your state to advise you. This person should also put you in touch with a financial planner—you’re going to owe taxes, and you’ll likely want to consider how best to handle charitable contributions and gifts to family and friends. “Once you set up your team, you can’t go wrong,” says Kurland.

Oh, and mum’s the word. New York City trusts and estates attorney Alison Besunder says, “The bigger problem arises when there is an oral (usually flippant) promise to share the proceeds.” So if you really want to stay anonymous? Keep your mouth shut.

 

Aww Skeet Skeet!

The antithesis of nonsense.
BGOL Investor
I thought the $470 million is the present value of the $810M annuity pre-tax. Meaning that taxes would still need to be taken out of the remaining amount...Im probably wrong though. No need to worry as the chance of winning is slim.

Edit: taxes get snatched (withheld) immediately. Then when you file, they come for the rest, if any. Yikes...

So 24-25% off top. Then those winnings would put you in the top tax bracket... So 37%. It's not exactly an additional 12-13% as the tax system is progressive. But yes, you'll pay more taxes come tax time.
 
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World B Free

Rising Star
BGOL Investor
How to Stay Anonymous When You Win the Lottery


Only seven states—Delaware, Kansas, Maryland, North Dakota, Ohio, South Carolina, Texas, and likely soon Georgia—allow winners to shield their identities. A handful of other states, like California and Wisconsin, entirely forbid winners to remain anonymous, “and then there are the states with gray areas,” says Jason Kurland, an attorney in East Meadow, New York, who has represented jackpot winners in the past. Depending on where you live, you can “form a trust and hide behind that. Your lawyer can be the face of the trust.”

Now this is exactly what Jane Doe, in New Hampshire, did—but she had already signed her lottery ticket in her own name, and lottery officials have refused to let her white out her name and re-sign in the name of the trust.

Most advisors instruct the winner to sign the ticket immediately so the ownership is indisputable—does the New Hampshire case mean that the lucky holder of the winning Powerball ticket shouldn’t sign the back of the ticket? Kurland notes that leaving the ticket unsigned, and risking someone (even your lawyer) stealing it, is a big risk. His solution? “Sign it, but sign it small. Then you can add trustees, or several trustees, and the name of the trust.”

Once you’ve signed, find a trusts and estates attorney in your state to advise you. This person should also put you in touch with a financial planner—you’re going to owe taxes, and you’ll likely want to consider how best to handle charitable contributions and gifts to family and friends. “Once you set up your team, you can’t go wrong,” says Kurland.

Oh, and mum’s the word. New York City trusts and estates attorney Alison Besunder says, “The bigger problem arises when there is an oral (usually flippant) promise to share the proceeds.” So if you really want to stay anonymous? Keep your mouth shut.


I'm in Michigan....


New bill in Michigan House would allow lottery winners to remain anonymous





Posted at 5:33 AM, Feb 16, 2021

and last updated 5:33 AM, Feb 16, 2021

LANSING, Mich. (WXYZ) — A new bill introduced in the Michigan House will allow lottery winners to remain anonymous in Michigan.

House Bill 4218, introduced by Republican Rep. Pat Outman from Six Lakes, would give Michigan lottery winners of multi-state games the option to remain anonymous. Those games include the Mega Millions, Powerball and Lucky for Life.

Currently, Michigan law doesn't permit lottery winners to remain anonymous.
“This is all about providing safety and ensuring winners of these types of games do not receive unwanted, possibly dangerous attention,” Outman said in a release. “The bill would allow those who win the lottery to have the choice to keep their identities anonymous. Allowing a privacy option gives people a more secure feeling and does not leave them open to harassment or a flood of requests for funds, loans or donations.”
The bill was referred to the House Committee on Regulatory Reform.

Copyright 2021 Scripps Media, Inc. All rights reserved.
 

geechiedan

Rising Star
BGOL Investor
$516M Mega Millions Jackpot Winners in Bucks Co. Claim Prize, Remain Nameless

Peace-of-Mind-Trust-Mega-Millions-516-Million-PhotoBucks-County-PA-Lottery.jpg


The winners of the biggest lottery jackpot won in Pennsylvania claimed their millions Friday and stayed anonymous in the process.

The winning ticket in May 21's $516 million Mega Millions lottery drawing was sold at the 7-Eleven on Trenton Road in Levittown, Bucks County. The ticket matched all five white balls drawn, 6-9-17-18-48, and the yellow Mega Ball 8. The ticket is worth an estimated annuity value of $516 million or just over $349 million in cash, lottery officials said.

The Peace of Mind Trust, a five-member group, opted for the lump sum. The after-tax prize amount wound up being $254,233,980, the Pennsylvania Lottery said.

The massive amount of money isn't lost on the winners and is partly why they don't want their names revealed.

“This is life-changing generational money," attorneys Kurt Panouses, of Florida-based Panouses Law Firm, and Christopher Mahoney, of Pennsylvania's Stuckert & Yates, said in a joint statement provided to the Pennsylvania Lottery. "The winners live in small communities in eastern Pennsylvania and desire to keep their lives as normal as possible. Maintaining anonymity is key to ensuring that normalcy."



this is in PA....

Are Lottery Winners Required to Reveal Their Identities?


Winners of the Pennsylvania lottery must fill out a claim form to receive their prizes. This claim form requires all lottery winners to reveal their identities. The Pennsylvania lottery commission reveals at least some identifying information about lottery winners to the public.

And yet there is an open question about whether lottery winners can get around this policy. With all of the misfortune and criminal acts that can befall lottery winners, lawyers have sought a loophole that will allow lottery winners to maintain at least some control over who can know about their winnings.

With this in mind, here is some information about the rules and policies about disclosing the identities of lottery winners.

Lottery Winners and Anonymity
You might believe that a lottery winner would want everyone to know about their good fortune. But anonymity can have several benefits for lottery winners, including:

SAFETY
One of the most important considerations for lottery winners is safety. If the world knows about your financial windfall, someone may try to rob you, kidnap you, or even murder you.

By remaining anonymous, you reduce the chances that someone will target you for a violent crime.

EXTORTION
Perhaps you have something in your past that you would prefer to keep secret. Once you hit the lottery, you could become the target of extortionists. These criminals may try to force you to pay on the threat of releasing negative information about you.

SHAKEDOWNS
When people know you have money, they can get tempted to try to take some of it away from you. People could file false lawsuits against you to try to push you into paying a nuisance settlement to make the lawsuit go away.

Alternatively, people could try to stage a phony accident so they could attempt to file a personal injury claim against you. Again, they hope that you will pay a settlement to get rid of the claim.

SOLICITATIONS
Lottery winners are often besieged by friends, family members, and even strangers who ask for money. These solicitations can ruin relationships when the lottery winner rejects the requests.

The Pennsylvania Lottery Policy
Pennsylvania explicitly states that it must collect a lottery winner’s personal information and that it must disclose at least some of that information to the public. The lottery commission gives several reasons for this policy, including:

  • Compliance with Pennsylvania’s open records laws
  • Transparency to show the public that the games can be won
  • Increasing lottery play through promotions showing past winners
To claim your prize, you must disclose your name, address, birth date, and Social Security number. The lottery commission can announce that you won a prize and disclose:

  • Your name or some part of your name
  • City and county of residence
  • Game name
  • Date of win
  • Prize amount
The lottery commission’s recent practice has been to disclose a winner’s first name, last initial, and county of residence. For example, a typical winner’s announcement might say that John D. of Franklin County won $10,000.

Possible Loopholes to Maintain Anonymity
Pennsylvania’s lottery rules require the commission to gather and disclose a lottery winner’s identity. But the rules do not require the lottery winner to be a natural person. The lottery rules allow partnerships to claim a lottery prize.

This would suggest that a trust or limited liability company (LLC) might be able to claim a lottery prize in Pennsylvania. This would shield the lottery winner’s identity from both the lottery commission and the public.

To do this, a lottery winner would have a lawyer form an entity. The winner would then transfer ownership of the winning ticket to the entity. As the legal owner of the ticket, the entity would claim the prize.

The lottery commission could collect and disclose the entity’s identifying information. But since the person who originally bought the ticket would no longer own it, there would be no reason for the lottery commission to collect or disclose that person’s identifying information.


 
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