Mega Millions jackpot is $1.1 billion: How big winners deal with 'the inevitable asking for money'

If you've ne'er had household oregon friends deed you up for money, that is apt to alteration if you were to triumph the $1.1 cardinal Mega Millions jackpot.

The expansive prize has been climbing done twice-weekly drawings since mid-October, with nary summons matching each six numbers drawn to onshore the expansive prize. This marks the 4th clip the game's jackpot has passed $1 billion, and if won astatine this level it would beryllium the fifth-largest lottery jackpot ever.

Of course, the advertised $1.1 cardinal is what you'd get if you were to take to take your winnings arsenic an annuity dispersed implicit 3 decades. The lump-sum currency enactment — which astir jackpot winners take alternatively — is $568.7 million.

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While a chunk of your winnings would spell to taxes, the magnitude you'd extremity up with aft those levies would beryllium much than astir radical spot successful a lifetime. It besides whitethorn marque you a people for radical who privation a portion of your newfound wealth, experts say.

Of course, not everyone volition beryllium preying connected you, said Emily Irwin, managing manager of proposal and readying astatine Wells Fargo Wealth & Investment Management. "But ... you ne'er cognize what's going to happen."

When "the inevitable asking for wealth occurs," she said, "how tin you marque definite you consciousness comfy saying yes oregon no?"

Here are immoderate tips to caput disconnected trouble.

If you negociate to bushed the likelihood stacked against a azygous summons hitting the jackpot — the accidental of hitting the motherlode is astir 1 successful 302.6 cardinal — 1 of the astir important things to bash is stock the quality with arsenic fewer radical arsenic possible.

"It's hard for adjacent your interior ellipse of radical not to accidental anything," said certified fiscal planner Susan Bradley, laminitis of the Sudden Money Institute successful Palm Beach Gardens, Florida.

Before you adjacent assertion your prize, you should acceptable up a squad of professionals to assistance you navigate your caller wealth. This radical should see astatine slightest an experienced attorney, fiscal advisor and taxation advisor.

One happening you tin deliberation astir during this pre-claiming phase, with the guidance of your team, is whether and however you privation to usage immoderate of the winnings to payment others.

Some jackpot winners pat their philanthropic broadside by either mounting up a backstage instauration oregon utilizing different tax-advantaged ways to marque charitable contributions. If you find from the commencement which causes you privation to enactment — say, protecting the situation oregon battling hunger — it tin marque it easier and much rewarding to usage those charitable dollars, experts say.

You besides could find a yearly bounds to what you springiness away, whether to charities oregon individuals.

For sharing with household and friends, you besides should acceptable up parameters, Irwin said.

"I deliberation it's adjuvant to deliberation astir nether what presumption you would gift money," Irwin said. "Are you present the slope for family?

"If there's a catastrophic event, volition you beryllium there?" she added. "If idiosyncratic wants to commencement a business, would you beryllium giving them effect money, oregon is it a loan?"

The payment of establishing a plan, Irwin said, is that it tin "eliminate feelings of guilt erstwhile you accidental nary to individuals oregon organizations."

Moreover, without boundaries, she said, "you could beryllium successful a presumption wherever you're moving done funds astatine an accelerated complaint ... and uncovering yourself saying yes much often than you wish."

Additionally, support successful caput that immoderate gifts travel with "carrying costs" that request to beryllium considered, Irwin said. For example, if you were to acquisition an costly location for yourself and each of your 4 siblings, those properties whitethorn travel with ongoing, outsized bills and attraction costs that you whitethorn beryllium expected to cover.

Most importantly, winning hundreds of millions of dollars would beryllium a accidental to make semipermanent fiscal stableness for you and loved ones if you attack it with foresight.

"Take attraction of yourself archetypal and your household first," Irwin said. "Make definite you don't marque decisions that could unduly harm your ain equilibrium expanse and comfort."

Meanwhile, Powerball's jackpot for Monday night's drafting is $340 cardinal (the currency enactment is $178.2 million). The accidental of hitting Powerball's apical prize is simply a tad amended than successful Mega Millions: 1 successful 292 million.