How to Know if You Win Nike Draw
Everybody needs money to survive. It's a fact nosotros may not like, but information technology'due south still a fact. Some other inescapable truth is that nearly of usa could use more coin for the things nosotros need equally well every bit the things we just desire. That probably makes the hope of winning the lottery sound like a dream come true, but the reality is much more complicated than that.
Consider this cautionary tale of a woman in desperate need who won an unbelievable amount of money. The choices and mistakes she fabricated afterward winning ultimately resulted in losing it all. Her story reminds united states all to never forget that money doesn't buy happiness.
Meet Marie Holmes
When she was 26, Marie Holmes was living a difficult life in North Carolina. She was a hard-working, unmarried mother of four with two low-paying jobs. On elevation of this, ane of her children had just been diagnosed with cerebral palsy.
Because of her kid'due south special needs, Marie was forced to quit both of her jobs to intendance for him full fourth dimension. Obviously, the $188 million lottery windfall seemed similar a Godsend when Marie won, but unfortunately, she made a series of poor decisions that resulted in her losing information technology all.
Marie fabricated some promising comments about what she planned to practise with the lottery coin — $127 one thousand thousand later on she chose to become information technology in a lump sum. "Kickoff I'yard going to pay my tithes, because I wouldn't accept none of information technology if it weren't for God."
"Afterwards that, I'thousand going to prepare up accounts for my kids…I'grand going to buy a house for me and my kids, then make sure my family is all skilful." Marie also told WGN-TV, "I don't have to worry near the word 'struggle' no more and neither do [my children]."
The Waiting Game
Although almost lottery winnings are non life changing, lottery jackpots are huge, and there are rules for claiming those winnings. If a person wins less than $599, the establishment that sold them the ticket pays them their winnings. Still, in that location is a lengthy process involved in claiming large lottery winnings.
The ticket has to be verified by a scanning motorcar. Next, there is a waiting period for the coin to exist awarded, and the winner must fill out some identification paperwork. Last, the winner must decide if they want all the money in a lump sum or have information technology dispersed in installments for 30 years (on average).
Choices, Choices
One of the more than difficult choices when a person wins millions of dollars in a lottery is whether to get the money in a lump sum or in installments. The dilemma occurs considering there is a large penalization for getting all the coin faster in a lump sum.
Marie had the choice of collecting the entire $188 million over 30 years or forfeiting $61 million and collecting the remaining $127 one thousand thousand much sooner. Financial experts commonly recommend taking the lump sum and investing the money. That allows yous the opportunity to brand coin on your winnings instead of the state. Marie chose the lump sum.
Uncle Sam'south Cut
Many people don't know how much taxes people take to pay out of lottery winnings in the U.S., so we'll break it down for you. Although the unabridged revenue enhancement amount wasn't reported in Marie Holmes' case, she definitely paid millions to the government.
In the U.S., lottery winnings are considered income by the IRS, on both the state and federal levels. Therefore, Northward Carolina would accept taken 5.8% of Marie's $127 million, and the Federal Authorities would have taken anywhere from 25% to 39.6%, depending on revenue enhancement bracket and other factors. Most people pay the highest rate.
Setting an Case
When Marie won the lottery, she had plans that all sounded very honorable. She said she would donate first to her church building and and then motility out of her mobile home and purchase a new house for her children. She also planned to prepare higher funds for them.
Marie told NBC, "All the struggle that I e'er went through, information technology was all for [my children]. I desire them to understand that money doesn't change you, simply it can assist you." The public fell in love with Marie after hearing about her history of poverty and hard knocks before she became wealthy.
Could She Handle It?
The reputation that Marie had in her hometown and elsewhere was that of a hard-working, single mother who, according to her family unit and friends, "understood the value of a dollar." At i indicate, she had two jobs — Walmart and McDonald'due south — to support her four children. Therefore, nobody expected her to make poor decisions about where the coin would go.
Of grade, no 1 took into account that Marie was inexperienced and uninformed about how to handle large amounts of money. When she started deciding how to spend the lottery coin, the public viewed her every bit immature and irresponsible.
Financial Advisor, Please?
When people who aren't wealthy win a lot of money, information technology'due south highly recommended that they seek professional person help most how to manage the money, including what Not to do with it. The boilerplate American has absolutely no feel handling big amounts of money.
Fiscal advisors warn that fifty-fifty titanic amounts of money can disappear speedily if it isn't invested wisely. In the case of Marie Holmes, it seemed like her heart was in the right identify and she was doing what she thought was correct, but some proficient advice definitely would have helped her out.
The Bad Judgment Begins
The first matter dubbed a poor judgment phone call by the public was the $15,000 Rolex that Marie bought her boyfriend, Lamar "Hot Sauce" McDow. The spotter was more jewelry than a timepiece and was reportedly "dripping with diamonds."
That same beau ultimately cost Marie much more. The Port City Daily reported Lamar was a gang member and a drug dealer after he was arrested and charged with "conspiracy to traffic in opium or heroin" in April 2016. He continued to get arrested throughout their human relationship, and Marie spent millions on his bail and defense.
The Saga Continues
Before beingness sent to jail on drug charges in 2014, Lamar McDow lived with Marie Holmes and her children in her trailer. When he was released from jail later serving his sentence, he lived in the $350,000 home that she had purchased after winning the lottery.
According to the Daily Mail, of the original amount of $188 million, Marie was left with about $88 meg after deciding to take her winnings in a lump sum and paying taxes. This is notwithstanding a very large amount of coin, only a loss of $100 one thousand thousand is obviously very significant.
Leeches Coming Out of the Woodwork
Predictably, lots of people immediately started request Marie and her boyfriend for money after they heard she won the lottery. The people included friends, family unit members and numerous others, all requesting various amounts of money for all kinds of reasons. Unfortunately, this experience is common for lottery winners.
Marie and Lamar were constantly harassed for money handouts, and it became very stressful for them. Marie was quoted every bit maxim, "When coin comes, there are more problems," according to reports.
Racial Intolerance in Their New Home
Another trouble that plagued Marie and her family in their new life in their new dwelling house was harassment from neighbors due to racial prejudice. The neighborhood that Marie moved into with her family unit was an intolerant, primarily white community, and much to the family unit'southward chagrin, the residents were not interested in changing.
According to Lamar, "One neighbor ready a photographic camera to record everything we were doing. If I was driving downwardly the road and going at the speed limit, they would wave at me for going too fast. They did not want us at that place. They were prejudiced." Lamar reported these disturbing events to the Daily Post.
The Church Donation
Marie stayed true to her discussion, which was reported in a press release as "The first thing she promised was to tithe — give a tenth of her winnings to clemency." Marie donated a full of $700,000 to her hometown church, Pleasant Colina Missionary Baptist Church, located in Shallotte, NC.
The church reportedly used the money for much-needed renovations. Marie told the press the church building was an important function of her life and her faith and that she had been attending that particular church since she was a child.
Pastor Disaster
Unfortunately, a unlike pastor made contact with Marie and her family with an evil ulterior motive. Pastor Kevin Matthews claimed that "God led him to them," and although they certainly regretted it later, Marie and her family believed him and allowed him into their lives and their domicile.
Soon after meeting Marie, Pastor Matthews asked her for $1.5 million so he could build a retreat. According to him, Marie verbally agreed to fund the project, although there is no evidence to support that. He then went ahead and began construction on the retreat using his ain money. Marie did not contribute.
Wicked Intentions
Citing a verbal agreement in which Marie allegedly promised to donate $i.5 million for his retreat, Pastor Kevin Matthews announced publicly that he was suing Marie Holmes for $ten meg. The amount of money named in the suit was baffling, considering the amount he was allegedly promised was much less.
The public believed Pastor Matthews was being ungrateful and greedy. His behavior seemed unbecoming of a Christian leader to most people of faith. The justification for his lawsuit was that he had a verbal agreement with Marie for a coin donation and compensation for "emotional distress."
Public Outrage
As soon every bit the media caught air current of the lawsuit, they uncovered that Matthews did not appear to exist affiliated with any church. This led to a astringent, angry public backlash. People shamed Matthews for beingness a fraud and trying to scam a nice lady out of her rightful winnings.
1 YouTuber, "Donald the Repentless," was so mad about this that he put out videos entitled, "F*** You Pastor Kevin Matthews." Public opinion was clear that this so-chosen "pastor" was nothing but a money-grubbing scam creative person preying on a dainty lady to get his hands on a lot of undeserved money.
To Top Information technology Off: Infidelity
In more bad news for Marie and her children, the media reported that her ex-captive swain was beingness unfaithful. Unfortunately, it was also reported that she herself paid Lamar's mistresses hush money to go away instead of getting rid of him.
In more reputation damaging news, a video surfaced on Facebook of a adult female who claimed that in addition to Lamar cheating on Marie, he was too stealing money from her to pay prostitutes for "sexual favors." Unfortunately, the video went viral, every bit juicy gossip frequently does.
Powering Through
Instead of withering under the scrutiny of the media and the public, Marie decided to take drastic measures to meliorate her circumstances. She gathered her strength and took matters into her ain easily past turning to a well-known life jitney to get some advice about how to improve her life.
Marie contacted Iyanla Vanzant, who has her ain bear witness advising people about their relationships on the Oprah Network. Vanzant is a renowned author and motivational speaker with a huge following due to her reputation for irresolute people'southward lives for the amend.
The Truth Revealed
In some other surprising twist, when Marie went on the Iyanla: Fix My Life talk show, her female parent, Fontella, came out and revealed that the numbers she chose for the winning lottery ticket were actually hers and that they had a very special meaning.
"I kept dreaming near your brother that we lost. His birthday, he was the third child, he'd have been 25 that year. Those were the numbers." When Marie asked her mother why she didn't claim the money for herself, Fontella replied, "I but wanted yous to ameliorate yourself for the babies."
The Scoop on Lamar McDow
Lamar "Hot Sauce" McDow was fortunate plenty to stay in Marie's adept graces long enough to fight jail three times, to the tune of millions in bond and legal fees. The first time Marie bailed him out, it cost her $3 1000000 in bond money.
Before a year had passed, Lamar was arrested again, and Marie bailed him out again for $6 million. The tertiary time Marie bailed out Lamar, information technology was $12 1000000. You would think she would have been repulsed past his criminal behavior, but she just kept spending the money, resulting in widespread criticism.
Misery Loves Company
Marie was warned by many people that if she continued her relationship with Lamar, she could finish up with criminal charges herself. Unfortunately, that'due south exactly what happened. One night, Lamar violated his parole curfew. When the law came, they discovered marijuana in the house.
Tragically, Marie was arrested for possession in front of her children. Marijuana remains illegal in Northward Carolina, but there is a significant racial bias about who is criminalized for it, co-ordinate to the ACLU. The aforementioned number of white people as black people use marijuana, but blacks are 3.73 times more likely to be arrested.
The Beau Defence
Lamar eventually got aroused at the people criticizing Marie for spending her coin bailing him out of jail, and he lashed out. To the Daily Mail, he asserted, "We are a couple, and I am the father of her youngest child. This is what people exercise for each other."
Lamar went on to say, "She has the money, and she can do what she wants with information technology. If I had that money, then I would do the same for her. People are just jealous because of how much she won, and people desire to see me locked in jail."
The Wolf Pit
During the taping of the Iyanla show, the bad headlines just kept rolling in. Marie'south family and even one-time friends started accusing her of actually stealing the lottery ticket from her mother, despite Fontella freely admitting on goggle box that she had given the ticket to Marie.
To add to the stress and drama, Lamar went to jail at this time on a 7-year sentence for charges related to possessing and selling heroin. True to grade, Marie persisted in pushing frontward and moving on with her life, demonstrating her forcefulness and resilience.
A Goal Met
Despite poor gustation in partners, Marie did brand some good decisions about what to do with some of her money. She ended upwardly giving $ix.7 meg to various charities. Role of that money went to the brand-new Marie Holmes Foundation, which was established to provide for children in demand.
Marie's foundation provides necessities for underprivileged children. It likewise holds community events, which are how some children become their school supplies and their Christmas presents. The foundation helps struggling young mothers like Marie was before she won the lottery.
Practise Christians Gamble?
Marie was raised a devout Cosmic, and she leans heavily on her Christian faith. Some people criticized her for playing the lottery at all, because it tends to exist frowned upon by the church. People have mixed opinions when information technology comes to Christians gambling.
One pastor said this to the Christian Post: "You can't be against the lottery, but your youth department is doing a RAFFLE! Same thing, pastor. SAME Thing!" The stigma remains virtually gambling existence an irresponsible money-waster. Others contend that at that place is nil specific said about gambling in the Bible, then it'southward okay when it's not abused.
The Root of All Evil
Other religious people, such as i pastor cited in the Christian Mail, pointed out that the Bible says that coin is where evil originated. He scolded Marie for buying the lottery ticket and went on to say, "Commencement, we must guard confronting our love of money."
It should be noted that when the Bible does mention "casting lots," it'due south not commonly talking about textile gain, but nigh God. In an example of this, Proverbs 16:33 states, "The lot is cast into the lap, simply its every conclusion is from the Lord."
Some Friendly Advice
We recommend that others read the unfortunate story of Marie Holmes in case they find themselves in her shoes. It'southward not at all piece of cake to go from rags to riches, and similar versions of her story accept happened to others.
It's important to understand tax laws for the long term, the rules of the lottery and investment options if y'all e'er find yourself in the position of receiving a large windfall of money. Exist sure to hire a adept professional financial expert to help you lot decide how to manage your money to avoid reckless decisions.
A Cautionary Tale
If you ever happen to find yourself in the unlikely position of winning the lottery some things to watch out for include government laws, lottery rules, state and federal taxes and your previous unpaid debts. These things can help yous calculate your expendable income.
It may be unwise in the initial excitement to promise lots of charitable giving, like Marie did, without first doing the math to see what your accept-home corporeality really is. Multiple millions of dollars may seem like an enormous amount, but as Marie discovered, it's easy to burn through it apace if you are uninformed.
Farther Drama
Some think that Marie had a run of terrible luck subsequently she won the lottery, while others think she brought her woes upon herself with poor decision-making. A few think the truth lies somewhere in the middle of those two black-and-white judgments.
Aside from spending millions on her boyfriend — who eventually ended up in federal prison house anyway — Marie besides made some other questionable decisions after winning the lotto, such as buying her boyfriend a business of his own and ownership her female parent a business firm. She also had harassment charges filed against her for allegedly calling a adult female repeatedly to threaten her.
The Lesser Line
The ending of this story is generally grim, although Marie Holmes did practice some positive things with a lasting impact before the last of her money was gone. She didn't seem to realize that she would exist under a microscope with the media and the public.
Here are a couple more tips, only in instance you always hit information technology large: Don't trust anyone request for money, even if they seem to accept a very respectable social status (like the pastor who sued Marie Holmes). Recollect the practiced that coin can do, just don't forget the bad. No thing what, don't brand assuming promises immediately after winning.
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