Download - Did you say $70 million
Did you say $70 million?! by Claudia Green ([email protected])
I was reading an article yesterday about a man who recently won $70
million on the SuperLotto Plus in San Francisco, the largest award by
the California State Lottery since 2009 when someone won $76
million. $70 million all as a result of buying the winning lotto ticket,
can you imagine that?!
What I find absolutely staggering though is that the winner, Eurico
Chin, left it a month before coming forward to claim his winnings. By
all accounts, he was fully aware that he had won, but waited to come
forward because he was deciding what to do with the money first!!
The article I was reading stated that Chin was still weighing up his
options and deciding whether to take the winnings as a one off lump
sum of cash, or whether to opt for the annuity option available to
him. I think that Chin is being very wise to take his time on this point.
It is certainly not a decision that should be taken lightly and indeed, it
can be very difficult to make. What is right for him now may not
necessarily be the best option for him in the future. Whichever way
he decides to go will undoubtedly make a huge impact on both
himself and his family.
If Chin decides to opt for the one off lump sum of cash now, then he
is likely to receive an amount of approximately $41 million. If,
however, he decides to go with the annuity option, he will receive the
full $70 million paid out to him in regular periodic payments over the
next thirty years.
As with a structured settlement annuity, electing to
take lottery winnings as an annuity settlement can be a very good
way for an annuitant to manage the money, rather than if they had a
lump sum of cash instead. Think about it, if you were to suddenly
receive a cash award totaling millions of dollars in one go, then you
might be blinded a little and tempted to spend, spend, and spend!!
This is exactly the reason why an annuity settlement can be a good
alternative for some.
If Chin decides to receive the money in regular periodic payments, he
should be aware that if his financial circumstances change in the
future, and he finds the need for a lump sum of cash, then he will
have the legal right to sell some or all of his payments to astructured
settlement factoring company such as Eagle Settlements. In return for
selling his annuity settlement payments, he will receive a lump sum of
cash for them instead. I would, however, always recommend this as a
last resort though because once you have sold your payments, you
cannot get them back.