You’re staring at the ticket. You’ve checked the numbers 14 times. You used the app. You had your (very-soon-to-be-ex) boss read them back to you.

It’s real. You’ve won.

The floor is tilting. Your heart is doing a drum solo. You have the sudden, overwhelming urge to scream-post on Instagram, buy a neon green Lamborghini, and tell your noisy neighbor exactly what you think of his prize-winning petunias.

Do. Not. Do. This.

Congratulations. Your life just changed forever. Now comes the hard part: keeping it that way. Your new full-time job—starting this second—is protecting your assets. And your first, most important task is to say absolutely nothing to anyone.

We’re not kidding. Not your best friend. Not your mom. Not your social media followers. Zip it.

Why? Because in Florida, you’re in a race against a ticking clock you didn’t even know had started.

The 90-Day Ticking Clock You Need to Know

Here is the single most important piece of legal information a Florida lottery winner needs to know.

Under Florida Statute 24.1051, winners of a prize of $250,000 or more are granted a 90-day period of anonymity. This means the Florida Lottery will keep your name confidential for 90 days.

This sounds great, right? Here’s the catch: that 90-day clock starts the day you claim your prize.

After 90 days, your name, city of residence, and the amount you won become public record, available to any journalist, scammer, long-lost “cousin,” or shady investment “guru” who asks for it.

This 90-day window is not a casual grace period. It is the most critical financial planning window of your life. It’s the time you use to build a fortress around your money. Wasting it is the first, and biggest, mistake you can make.

Your 5-Step “Pre-Claim” Fortress Plan

Before you even think about driving to Tallahassee, you need a plan. What you do before you claim the ticket is more important than what you do after.

1. Sign the Ticket. Seriously, NOW. A lottery ticket is a “bearer instrument,” which is a fancy legal term for “whoever holds it, owns it.” Drop an unsigned ticket, and you just made whoever finds it very, very rich. Sign the back of the ticket. This immediately identifies it as yours.

2. Secure the Ticket. Do not keep this multi-million dollar piece of paper in your wallet or glove box. Go to a bank and put it in a safe deposit box. Now. Take a photo and a video of yourself with the signed ticket (for your own records) and then lock it away.

3. Go “Radio Silent.” Resist every urge to celebrate publicly. Do not quit your job (yet). Do not post a “feeling blessed” status. Do not buy a new car. Act completely, boringly normal. The world changes the second they know you’ve won. You want to be fully prepared before that happens.

4. Assemble Your “A-Team” (Starting with a Lawyer). You are now the CEO of a brand-new, high-value corporation: You, Inc. You need a board of directors. Your first call is to an experienced Florida attorney.

• An Estate & Asset Protection Attorney: This is your new “quarterback.” You need a lawyer who has experience with high-net-worth individuals and, ideally, other lottery winners. They will guide you through everything that follows.
• A Certified Public Accountant (CPA): Florida has no state income tax (woo!), but the IRS is about to become your least-favorite pen pal. Your new CPA will handle the massive federal tax implications.
• A Vetted Financial Advisor: You need a “fee-only” fiduciary (this is critical) to manage your wealth, not someone trying to sell you a product.

5. The REAL Secret to Anonymity: The Trust This is the “how-to” that your attorney will manage.

You don’t want “Jane Doe” to be the public-facing winner. So, how do you avoid it?

You don’t claim the prize as Jane Doe. Your attorney will create a legal entity—typically a blind trust or an LLC. This entity will have a wonderfully boring name, like “The Sunshine Winners Trust” or “123 Main Street Holdings, LLC.”

Your attorney will then claim the prize on behalf of the trust. When the 90-day clock expires and the public records requests come in, the “winner” listed will be the trust, and the point of contact will be your law firm.

This is how you stay private. It separates your personal name from the money, protecting you and your family from the flood of requests and scams that will inevitably follow.

The Big Questions Your New Team Will Answer

Once your A-Team is in place (but before you’ve claimed the prize!), you’ll work through the two other major decisions.

• Lump Sum or Annuity? The lump sum is a smaller, single “cash value” payment. The annuity is a larger total amount paid out over 30 years. The lump sum gives you total control (and total risk). The annuity is “stupid-proof” money. There is a complex legal and tax answer for both, and it depends entirely on your goals.
• When to Claim? You have 180 days from the draw date to claim. But if you want the cash option (lump sum), you only have 60 days from the draw date to elect it. This is another ticking clock. Your attorney will use this time to get the trust and financial plans set up before walking into the Lottery office.

Winning the lottery is a fantasy. But protecting the winnings is a serious, complex business. You get one shot to do it right.

That thrilling, terrifying, life-changing piece of paper in your hand is the starting gun. The race to protect it has already begun.

Don’t tell a soul. Call an attorney.

Ready to Protect Your Future?

If you’re holding a winning ticket, your next move is the most important one you’ll ever make. Contact our experienced attorneys for a confidential consultation before you claim your prize. We provide the clarity and security you need to turn this moment into a lifetime of success.