+97 @LPNTed I have put a bit more thought into this.. friends and family will get trust funds they can access for some things and regular payments..but they'll have to sign an NDA and it's revoked if they violate the NDA

+27 @celiacsunshine I've read that this is actually best practice if you win, to determine how you'll be giving away your winnings before you claim them or tell anybody. If you win, you'll have a few months to a year (depending on your state) to claim your jackpot, so use that time to lawyer up, hire a CPA (for tax planning purposes), and figure out your giving strategy before the cash is in your hands and you get overwhelmed with requests and lawsuits.

+16 @gvillager I'm not telling anyone. I got too many toxic people in my life and if they found out I'd be miserable. I'll continue to live in a modest house and drive a modest car. But overtime I'd start to quietly help out those that are close to me in subtle ways. Have unexpected funeral or medical expenses that you can't afford, I got you. Get laid off or fall on hard times, I got their rent/mortgage, car payment, light, heat, water bill, or anything else they need till they get back on their feet. If any of the kids of my close friends or family get accepted into college I'll consider paying or helping out with that.

+12 @WalkingOnSunshine83 I don’t have any friends that I would consider giving an actual percentage to. There are a couple of close relatives whom I would consider creating trust funds for. I don’t like to get bogged down imagining too much detail of the business end of it. I much prefer to imagine the beautiful custom homes I will build.

+12 @ashmaht I’d help my immediate family out so they’d never have to worry about money again, and if close extended family members and friends needed something, I’d be there for them of course. But most of the money would probably go towards investments and charitable giving. Ive never really thought of it in terms of percentages other than saying “10% is for me to do all the things I’ve always put off.” The rest is to do some good in the world while I can.

+11 @sn44 My breakdown is a bit skewed the other way around. * **20%** = a trust for me with a modest lifestyle budget to live off the interest * **20%** = a series of trusts for friends/family where they cannot touch the principle under any circumstances and the interest is use to pay off a fixed amount credit card. They are also unable to use the trust as a collateral for a personal loan. Any additional requests will be ignored and may result in the forfeiture of their initial trust. * **30%** = philanthropic trust with a 7 person committee to review applications. Main purpose would be paying off predatory student loan and medical debts * **30%** = commercial/entrepreneurial investment trust with with a 7 person committee to review angle grant applications Both the philanthropic and commercial investment trusts would also solicit for other funding sources to increase the initial investment I'd make. Ideally I'd set up a price-match goal to match whatever I donate with an equal share of other donations. Beyond the formal application requests for predatory debt relief or angle investment requests, no one who asks me for money will get any. Also, outside of the friends/family trusts I initially set up I will not be directly involved in the distribution or allotment of any funds. This is of course assuming a $500M take-home. The numbers would be different for a smaller jackpot and/or one of the two trusts would not get formed.

+11 @Admiral_obvious13 If you do win, this is something you will have people help you out with. If you have to disregard advice from your lawyer / financial advisor to do some of this stuff then listen to them.  I was also talking to my wife about it. We know how many lottery winners end up broke after X amount of years. The best plan involves learning about why that happens and doing whatever it takes to avoid that.

+11 @SailorTodd I want to minimize the amount of money the government gets of my money, so before anything else, during the same tax year I claim my prize, up to 36% of the pre-tax amount would go to a donor advised fund, so that I can deduct it from my filed income. Second, any amount I give to family stays below the lifetime gift tax exemption and/or annual gift tax exclusion. Right now, the list is 11 people who would each receive $2.7 million up front and an annual gift of $38k from my wife and me. Anything above that means I'm also paying the government 40% of whatever amount I'm gifting. I will, of course, consult with a tax professional to make sure my math is correct and there aren't other considerations, but that's my initial plan.

+10 @tasteless I'm changing my number and moving to lake como to hang out with George Clooney.