Won the Mega Millions!  What to do after winning the lottery?

There are some critical steps that you need to take as soon as you win the lottery.  The first and most important step - shut up!  Don't tell a soul.  Don't tell your spouse, your partner, your kids, your dog.  OK, you can tell your dog. As hard as it is to keep your mouth shut, this is actually a very important step.  Anonymity is the name of the game when it comes to successfully dealing with your lottery winnings.  As soon as someone knows you have won the lottery, the onslaught of hucksters, long lost relatives and any number of snake oil salesmen will appear.  So, it's critical that you keep your trap shut until you are prepared to divulge your secret.

Step two, consultant an attorney.  Not just any attorney, but most typically an attorney that specializes in high net worth individuals typically focusing on estate planning and perhaps lottery winning directly.  These specialties exist and heck, you can afford an attorney, so use one!  Your new attorney, if they are worth their salt, should immediately direct you to set up a blind trust.  In many states, it is legal for blind trusts to claim lottery winnings. This keeps your identity out of the public record and the aforementioned schlocksters away from your door.  However, even though it's a blind trust, be aware that many states require that the trust divulge it's beneficiaries internally to the state.  This is done to match the names of beneficiaries against the child support roles.  After all, any new multi-millionaire will want to do right by their children!