Winning the lottery is a dream come true for many people. However, once you’ve won a jackpot, you must protect your winnings. This means keeping your name out of the media and keeping your winnings hidden from long-lost friends. Here are some tips to protect your identity if you’ve won a lottery jackpot.
One story involves a woman who won a lottery jackpot and decided to keep it a secret from her husband. She wanted to spend it on a vacation and a furnished house. However, she blew a good portion of it on gambling and other miscellaneous expenditures. Sadly, her husband murdered her after she wasted much of her winnings.
Another story involving a lottery winner is that of David Lee Edwards. He won a lottery jackpot in 1989 and won $3.1 million. Unfortunately, his life turned out to be a mess. He was divorced two years later and lost custody of his children. He was also arrested for attempted murder. He then became addicted to crack and cocaine. His money was gone by the time he was in his 50s.
If you win the lottery, make sure you have a plan in place to handle the money. You may have to hire a financial planner to help you decide how to best use your money. You should also get a tax attorney to help you manage the taxes on your lottery winnings.