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Assemble a team of financial experts
Typically, lottery winners “don’t have the knowledge base to handle this large sum of money,” said Andrew Stoltmann, a Chicago-based lawyer who has represented several lottery winners. “It’s very similar to what we see with our professional athlete clients.”
That’s why it’s critical to find the right team of experts, including a financial advisor, accountant and attorney, he said.
The winner also needs to prepare for the “estate tax consequences” of the multi-million dollar windfall, according to Warren Racusin, a wealth planning attorney and partner at Lowenstein Sandler.
For 2024, the federal estate tax exemptions are $13.61 million per individual or $27.22 million for married couples. But without changes from Congress, those limits will drop by roughly one-half in 2026 when provisions sunset from the Republicans’ signature 2017 tax overhaul.
“There are a variety of estate planning ideas and techniques that you can use to save on estate taxes and benefit your family,” Racusin said.
Saturday’s Powerball drawing comes roughly two and a half months since a single ticket sold in California won the game’s $1.765 billion jackpot. Meanwhile, the Mega Millions jackpot is back down to $92 million and the odds of winning that prize are roughly 1 in 302 million.
