<is wondering whether the OP needs answer fast>
We’re just concerned about losing some of the cash we’d otherwise share with our good friends. 
There is at least one lawyer in Reno who specializes in large winnings. Shouldn’t be too hard to find him. I’ve no idea what he does. I can see why you would want one e.g. creating a foundation to manage your winnings.
There is a gift tax, true, and it is typically paid by the donor. Charitable deductions are actually tax deductible (within parameters). You also have a unified estate and gift tax credit of about $1.8 million, so if you’re not giving away too much and have the good taste not to die in your giftng-year, you should be good. See http://www.irs.gov/publications/p950/ar02.html#en_US_publink100099451
I don’t think the above undermines my point (I dare say it bolsters it) that what you need the lawyer for is tax planning and not really contracts to give gifts (which, of course, is a contradiction in terms).
Considering that the question in the OP was not, “You win the lottery, should you keep any records? LOL!” but rather “What kind of tasks would you need a lawyer to do if you won the lottery?”, I think some precision in the response is called for.
So what you probably need is a tax attorney. Who may very well be a CPA or who at the very least has CPAs working for him/her (possibly as paralegals).
Do I count as a good friend? If so, okay, you can worry about taxes.
If I win half a billion dollars, I will gladly pay the taxes on your relocation fees to move to LA. You’re welcome!
I believe that donations to universities for things like buildings come with contracts. If the university promised naming rights, wouldn’t you want to get that down in writing?
It’s not always as easy as writing a check to your nephew. A good financial planner can help you work out a plan that makes sure you can do what you want to do regardless of how things turn out in the future. A good financial planner also works with a lawyer to make sure that any plans are legally sound. A lawyer can also draft a will that takes your new-found wealth into consideration. And a good planner also works with at least one CPA to work out the tax issues and keep the books.
In addition to the obvious team of planner, CPA, and lawyer, I’d hire a publicist to manage my image. That’s the only other person I’d hire.
I’ve always wondered about this. How do you (when collecting anonymously) get around the requirement of signing the ticket? Or do you just have an unsigned ticket (perfect for theft!) until someone puts something down on that signature line?
And what states don’t let you collect anonymously? Why are some allowed to and some aren’t when they’re all under the same multi-state system?
Get an attorney to change your name to Barack Obama. Collect the money under that name. Good lucking trying to find you
Major philanthropic gifts are generally a lot more complex than just writing out a check and dropping it on the table.
For example, let’s say you want to enable your college’s edifice complex and build a building to be named after you. Now, you could assume that you’re going to write a check for the $50 million in construction costs and walk away, secure in the knowledge that your children and grandchildren are guaranteed spots at Outer Slobbovia State because Dad bought and paid for the new on-campus strip club. Don’t be ridiculous.
First of all, you may not even be dealing with the university itself, but with its foundation. University foundations manage the philanthropic gifts on the university’s behalf and exist because they can do things as a 503(c)(3) that a university can’t. The foundation will negotiate the specific terms of the gift. Also, because you’re not giving directly to the university, there is a natural firewall that keeps philanthropists from being able to interfere with the university’s operations. In other words, you can’t drop a gigantic check on the table and tell the school what to do because the check isn’t written out to Outer Slobbovia State; it’s written out to the Outer Slobbovia State Foundation.
These terms range from deal-breakers to the trivial. For example, the university may not allow an on-campus strip club, so that’s out. The giver is free to take his money elsewhere, or the university may counter-propose, say, a science building. That’s one down. Other considerations might be: What costs does the gift cover? Is the gift going to cover furnishings and equipment, or is it just for the building? Will the university be required to seek matching funds? Are naming rights included, and if so, under what terms? Does the university have the right to re-purpose the building at some point in the future, or is it to remain a science building in all perpetuity? Are there any other considerations? For example, is the gift of a science building contingent on the development of a new major or minor? All of these points, and loads more, are details that are negotiated as part of the donation process. Once everything’s hunky dory and everyone is happy, the giver can write the check and drop it on the table. Until then, the negotiations are the province of lawyers. All of this, by the way, is true of other kinds of charities, as well. Any time you want to donate a lot of money, you have to do at least some negotiating.
I know this seems counterintuitive because charities need money to function. But there are legal considerations for both the charity and the giver, and that’s why there are negotiations and contracts and lawyers.
All but five state DE, KS, MD, ND, OH have laws requiring the lottery officials to disclose the name of the winner to anyone who asks. This would be for fraud prevention.
I think that a lawyer sets up a trust and has power of attorney to sign for the trust.
I don’t think that you can be a smartass and cash your CA ticket in another state to avoid this. It’s based on where you bought the ticket.
Different states have different laws. CA wants everything to be transparent and a matter of public record to avoid the appearance of malfeasance.
There are other differences too. CA law requires all prizes to be parimutuel (based on the size of the pot.) If you get five numbers but not the last one right, you get $250k in most other (or maybe all other) states. In CA that number varies. It could be more or less than that. The other parties probably decided that it was ok to allow CA to be different when they joined because of how much money they would be putting into the pool.
You don’t have to. Anyone can give a no strings attached gift. In practice that is rarely the case though.
It’s one thing if I give $25 to the Human Fund; I write the check and the fund uses it for whatever they’re going to use it for. It’s another if I want to give a million dollars to the Human Fund. Even assuming that I’d give the money with no strings attached, we’d still have to come to some meeting of the minds to make sure that the money is legitimate, that the money is not going to be used for illicit purposes, and that my gift won’t have a negative effect on the charity’s operations or on its other fundraising efforts. This will probably take the five minutes it’d take to write the check, but it’s still going to happen.
You’re certainly right that ordinarily a meeting would occur. And that it would be the expectation of the development officer, at least before he or she heard otherwise, that a meeting would occur.
However if you were a well-known rich person, as the winner of a half-billion jackpot would be, and you said: “Hey, Human Fund. I want to give you a gift five million dollars. The only thing I’m gonna sign is this here check. No meetings. Take it or leave it.”
They will still take your check. And they won’t really be exposed to any legal liability, nor will the donor. (Although both will have reporting obligations.)
They say a lawyer can help u get your money all at once but I don’t know how true this is
What is this supposed to mean? You have a choice of an annuity or taking a lump sum all at once. No need for a lawyer for that.
No doubt she will be back to re-define that as a “negotiation.”