You've won the lottery. Great!
Your heart has stopped pounding, your pulse has steadied. You look again and yet again at the ticket in your shaky hands, daring to acknowledge your good fortune.
But don't get too complacent. You may have won the big prize, but it's Saturday night - and you can't get into the lottery headquarters to present your ticket until Monday. You have a problem. The security of your ticket is the first priority. You can't put it into a safe deposit box because the banks are closed. You don't trust it in your wallet, and that flimsy safe in your bedroom is the first place anyone would look if they knew you had a winning ticket.
How do you keep this fragile piece of paper absolutely secure for the next 36 hours?
This kind of scenario goes through the minds of many winners. Some believe they will be able to keep it safe by taping the ticket to their chest and sleeping with it under their pillow. Others will put the ticket in the fridge, thinking this will be the last place a burglar would look. (Wrong - skilled burglars are far more savvy than you realize!)
There are many other questions about tickets besides security that winners need to worry about. Here are the top 5 problems, along with some solutions...
1. Your ticket is stolen. What can you do?
You should protect your ticket first by signing it with your name and address. According to the Washington lottery website, a lottery ticket has the same authority as currency. A ticket is a 'bearer instrument' which means the person holding the ticket is also the owner. So when you sign the back of your lotto ticket, that act will make the ticket yours officially, because only the bearer whose name matches the signature on the ticket can claim its winnings.
2. You got your ticket as a gift. Who gets the money?
You do. But often when a winning lotto ticket is given as a gift, there can be problems if the giver receives nothing back. Since the prize is seen as 'found' money - money that cost little to obtain - there may be resentment that the gift ticket giver didn't receive any part of the winnings. The answer is simple. Why not split it with the giver? Even a 90/10 split will go a long way to keeping the friendship.
3. Can your family make a claim on the prize?
Generally no. But if you worry about your family claiming a portion of the prize, then why not split the money up equally among all the family? There is no better way to unite a group of people than to include them in your good fortune.
4. So you missed the winnings claim expiry date. Can you get an extension?
Few lotteries will extend a deadline. The best way to avoid this is to make a regular trip to your lotto store within a few days after each game, and have them put the tickets through their counter machine. You get added security this way by knowing there won't be any mistakes in the numbers either.
5. What happens if you lose your ticket?
You will lose your money, because in order to claim your prize you must present your winning ticket intact. Without your ticket, there is no proof of ownership, and this means you won't be able to collect your winnings. So your first and essential step is to sign your ticket when you buy - in case it ends up in someone else's hands. By signing your name and address, it acts as strong security against someone else trying to claim your prize if your ticket is lost or stolen. So the news is bad - usually your money is gone for good unless you have the physical ticket. Even a photocopy is unlikely to get accepted by the lottery organization. You've got to keep it safe.
