+38 @BlackMetaller I take it you've been [reading this](https://www.ar15.com/forums/General/-ARCHIVED-THREAD-Winning-the-Lottery-is-Very-Dangerous-A-Practitioner-s-Guide-LONG/5-749519/?page=1): >IMMEDIATELY retain an attorney. Get a partner from a larger, NATIONAL firm. Don't let them pawn off junior partners or associates on you. They might try, all law firms might, but insist instead that your lead be a partner who has been with the firm for awhile. Disclaimer: I know the lottery firms have people you can talk to after a win. My following comments assume you don't end up talking to those people, for whatever reason. Surely it would be a lot easier to find the right people to help you with the lottery's help. So I recently spent a few hours diving down the rabbit hole on this as a imaginary exercise. Almost zero chance I'd ever be in this situation but it was still fun to consider it. Do a web search to identify the largest law firms in your country, then check google maps to see where their offices are in your city, and check their websites. See if their websites have a section that splits their staff up by sector/expertise. Yes, trusts and estates is kind of what you're looking for, but it's more fine grained than that. A lot of the estates info is going to be about making wills which is not what you're interested in (not at this point). They might be listing these services under "private wealth" or something like that. If you see the magic words "we service ultra-high net worth individuals" then BINGO - you've found it. And anything like "we advise on jet/yacht acquisition" - yes, these are the people you want to speak to. You don't need to be thinking about jets or yachts - but if these are the services that firm offers then you know that dealing with wealthy people is something they have experience in. I don't know if you really need to do much vetting at this point. If that's what they say their service is and if their presence in the country indicates they are a huge firm ($1b+ net worth is surely good) then it's probably good enough. You might want to check out all the firms that have these matching services and compare them. Check photos on google maps and see what their office foyers look like. Now if I was in this situation I'd want to go with the advice linked above and want to speak to a partner. The higher in the firm the better. You might be lucky to find (or rather, the firm might be lucky to have, if only to end up getting your business) a partner who services ultra-high net worth individuals and you can see on their staff profile their experience, their history with the firm, and exactly where they are located. This is the point where it gets a bit fuzzy. Sure, there's a phone number you can call, almost certainly going to the partner's personal assistant and/or team. Can you just call up and make an appointment? Well you can try, but I'm sure they don't give these appointments just out to anyone at the drop of a hat. I'd imagine you'd call up, and just tell them you've come into a large inheritance (*you don't want to spill the beans over the phone, especially to a PA*). Tell them you'd like to make an appointment with the partner to discuss your options for how to handle the transition of receiving a large amount of money. They might try to blow you off onto an associate, but if you're insistent and state you have no problem paying for the partner's expertise then it might go well. Almost certainly they'll schedule a callback for an initial phone interview with an associate, or maybe they'll give you an initial meeting in their offices. They're trying to work out if you're worth the partner's time. You may need to keep saying "large inheritance" a few times. If they press you for exact details just keep saying you don't feel comfortable saying exactly how big the inheritance is over the phone. Might they ask for a deposit or "retainer" up front? Possibly, but then law firms usually have the resources to ensure they eventually get paid for any work. When you get facetime with that partner just spill the beans immediately. The large inheritance was a white lie to get past the underlings, and you actually have won a huge jackpot in the lottery. At this point I fantasize that the partner goes completely silent for ten seconds, and then suddenly calls their PA on speakerphone to say "*get so-and-so in here immediately, I don't care that they're in a meeting, get them in here now!*" and soon after you're sitting across from two partners who are very happy to be having this meeting with you. The PA is probably even bringing in drinks and snacks at this point. Do you need to keep this law firm around in the long term? There's absolutely no obligation to do that. Maybe you're a low overhead person. But I think that having a law firm on your side in the initial steps is absolutely the best thing you can do. They will know how to keep the vultures away before you even realize they're circling. And if you have dreams - buy the most expensive penthouse in the city, setup charities - they absolutely will know the roadmap to make that happen.

+25 @wirebrushfan I've recently gone through this. I set up a trust to execute an estate plan due to a lottery win. I was referred to an estate attorney through my normal attorney. They were terrible, and wasted my time. I then went to FB and found a local that was referred a lot. They give you an intake form, and you lay out all of your assets. Two meetings with two different attorneys to lay out the details. Basically went through it all with the first one, second guy was to clarify details. All of the paperwork was prepared, then went in for signing docs. I still have one more visit to pay them and pick up paperwork. It was a pain in the ass, but a necessary evil. Now my assets are shielded from probate, creditors, lawsuits, unnamed heirs, and maybe even fraud to a degree. If I pass away, my named heirs, extended/unknown family can't file probate claims or challenges. It all goes to who I want it to. I did a revocable trust, so I can change it anytime.

+12 @lintfilms You go to AVVO and look for the biggest corporate firm in your state. You want a partner in their Trusts & Estates practice group. You may talk to a few, but it's not hard. You say you want to remain anonymous, you say you want a strong asset protection plan and you want a plan that will allow you to legally avoid or minimize taxes on the income that the winnings generate. I am an attorney myself and this is what I would do. I know what needs to be done. I know how to do it, and it's more work than I want to do if I win tens of millions. Oh and you want two attorneys. The second one just documents with affidavits that the first one is doing the work for you to remain anonymous. They draft affidavits the other attorneys sign about what work they were retained to perform. Oh and you want them on either a flat rate or a capped retainer. If you are spending more than $10k setting up a plan you are probably being overbilled, but depending on the complexity of the plan you could top out north of $35k if you are using offshore asset protection trusts and a more complex structure for asset protection.