America Wins Again I Am Still the President
Everybody needs coin to survive. It's a fact we may not similar, but it's however a fact. Some other inescapable truth is that nearly of the states could use more money for the things we need too as the things we but want. That probably makes the promise of winning the lottery sound similar a dream come true, only the reality is much more than 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 made afterward winning ultimately resulted in losing it all. Her story reminds usa all to never forget that money doesn't buy happiness.
Meet Marie Holmes
When she was 26, Marie Holmes was living a hard life in North Carolina. She was a hard-working, single mother of four with 2 low-paying jobs. On meridian of this, ane of her children had just been diagnosed with cerebral palsy.
Because of her child'due south special needs, Marie was forced to quit both of her jobs to care for him full time. Obviously, the $188 1000000 lottery windfall seemed similar a Godsend when Marie won, just unfortunately, she made a serial of poor decisions that resulted in her losing it all.
Marie's Original Plans
Marie made some promising comments most what she planned to do with the lottery money — $127 million after she chose to become it in a lump sum. "Commencement I'm going to pay my tithes, considering I wouldn't have none of information technology if information technology weren't for God."
"After that, I'm going to set accounts for my kids…I'm going to buy a house for me and my kids, so make sure my family is all skilful." Marie also told WGN-Television receiver, "I don't have to worry about the word 'struggle' no more and neither do [my children]."
The Waiting Game
Although most lottery winnings are not life irresolute, lottery jackpots are huge, and there are rules for challenge those winnings. If a person wins less than $599, the establishment that sold them the ticket pays them their winnings. Still, there is a lengthy process involved in challenge big lottery winnings.
The ticket has to be verified past a scanning machine. Adjacent, at that place is a waiting flow for the coin to be 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 it dispersed in installments for xxx years (on boilerplate).
Choices, Choices
One of the more than difficult choices when a person wins millions of dollars in a lottery is whether to go the money in a lump sum or in installments. The dilemma occurs considering there is a large penalty for getting all the coin faster in a lump sum.
Marie had the selection of collecting the entire $188 million over 30 years or forfeiting $61 one thousand thousand and collecting the remaining $127 1000000 much sooner. Financial experts commonly recommend taking the lump sum and investing the money. That allows you the opportunity to brand coin on your winnings instead of the state. Marie chose the lump sum.
Uncle Sam'southward Cutting
Many people don't know how much taxes people accept to pay out of lottery winnings in the U.S., so we'll intermission it down for you. Although the unabridged tax 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 country and federal levels. Therefore, Due north Carolina would have taken v.viii% of Marie's $127 one thousand thousand, and the Federal Authorities would have taken anywhere from 25% to 39.6%, depending on tax subclass and other factors. Most people pay the highest charge per unit.
Setting an Example
When Marie won the lottery, she had plans that all sounded very honorable. She said she would donate first to her church and then move out of her mobile home and purchase a new house for her children. She also planned to set up college funds for them.
Marie told NBC, "All the struggle that I e'er went through, it was all for [my children]. I want them to understand that money doesn't change you, but information technology can help you." The public fell in love with Marie subsequently hearing about her history of poverty and difficult knocks before she became wealthy.
Could She Handle It?
The reputation that Marie had in her hometown and elsewhere was that of a difficult-working, single mother who, co-ordinate to her family unit and friends, "understood the value of a dollar." At i point, she had two jobs — Walmart and McDonald's — to support her iv children. Therefore, nobody expected her to make poor decisions about where the money would get.
Of form, no one took into account that Marie was inexperienced and uninformed near how to handle large amounts of money. When she started deciding how to spend the lottery money, the public viewed her every bit immature and irresponsible.
Fiscal Advisor, Please?
When people who aren't wealthy win a lot of money, information technology's highly recommended that they seek professional assist near how to manage the money, including what NOT to exercise with it. The boilerplate American has admittedly no experience treatment large amounts of coin.
Financial advisors warn that fifty-fifty titanic amounts of money can disappear rapidly if information technology isn't invested wisely. In the instance of Marie Holmes, it seemed like her middle was in the right place and she was doing what she thought was correct, but some expert advice definitely would have helped her out.
The Bad Judgment Begins
The beginning affair dubbed a poor judgment phone call by the public was the $15,000 Rolex that Marie bought her boyfriend, Lamar "Hot Sauce" McDow. The watch was more than jewelry than a timepiece and was reportedly "dripping with diamonds."
That aforementioned boyfriend ultimately toll Marie much more. The Port City Daily reported Lamar was a gang fellow member and a drug dealer after he was arrested and charged with "conspiracy to traffic in opium or heroin" in April 2016. He connected to get arrested throughout their relationship, and Marie spent millions on his bail and defense.
The Saga Continues
Before being 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 judgement, 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 one thousand thousand, Marie was left with about $88 1000000 after deciding to have her winnings in a lump sum and paying taxes. This is still a very big corporeality of money, just a loss of $100 million is obviously very significant.
Leeches Coming Out of the Woodwork
Predictably, lots of people immediately started request Marie and her boyfriend for coin after they heard she won the lottery. The people included friends, family 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 as saying, "When money comes, at that place are more issues," according to reports.
Racial Intolerance in Their New Home
Another problem that plagued Marie and her family in their new life in their new home was harassment from neighbors due to racial prejudice. The neighborhood that Marie moved into with her family was an intolerant, primarily white community, and much to the family'due south chagrin, the residents were not interested in changing.
According to Lamar, "One neighbor set up a camera to record everything we were doing. If I was driving downwards the road and going at the speed limit, they would wave at me for going likewise fast. They did non desire u.s. at that place. They were prejudiced." Lamar reported these agonizing events to the Daily Post.
The Church Donation
Marie stayed truthful to her discussion, which was reported in a printing release as "The get-go thing she promised was to tithe — give a tenth of her winnings to clemency." Marie donated a total of $700,000 to her hometown church, Pleasant Hill Missionary Baptist Church, located in Shallotte, NC.
The church reportedly used the coin for much-needed renovations. Marie told the printing the church was an important part of her life and her faith and that she had been attending that particular church since she was a child.
Pastor Disaster
Unfortunately, a different 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 information technology later on, Marie and her family unit believed him and immune him into their lives and their habitation.
Presently after meeting Marie, Pastor Matthews asked her for $ane.5 million and so he could build a retreat. According to him, Marie verbally agreed to fund the project, although there is no show to support that. He then went alee and began construction on the retreat using his own money. Marie did not contribute.
Wicked Intentions
Citing a verbal agreement in which Marie allegedly promised to donate $1.5 million for his retreat, Pastor Kevin Matthews announced publicly that he was suing Marie Holmes for $x million. The corporeality of coin named in the suit was inexplainable, considering the corporeality he was allegedly promised was much less.
The public believed Pastor Matthews was beingness ungrateful and greedy. His behavior seemed unbecoming of a Christian leader to nigh people of religion. The justification for his lawsuit was that he had a verbal agreement with Marie for a money donation and compensation for "emotional distress."
Public Outrage
As soon as the media caught air current of the lawsuit, they uncovered that Matthews did non appear to be affiliated with whatsoever church. This led to a severe, angry public backfire. People shamed Matthews for being a fraud and trying to scam a nice lady out of her rightful winnings.
I YouTuber, "Donald the Repentless," was then mad about this that he put out videos entitled, "F*** You Pastor Kevin Matthews." Public stance was clear that this so-called "pastor" was nothing simply a money-grubbing scam artist preying on a dainty lady to go his hands on a lot of undeserved coin.
To Height It Off: Infidelity
In more bad news for Marie and her children, the media reported that her ex-captive swain was being unfaithful. Unfortunately, it was also reported that she herself paid Lamar's mistresses hush money to get away instead of getting rid of him.
In more reputation damaging news, a video surfaced on Facebook of a woman who claimed that in addition to Lamar cheating on Marie, he was also stealing money from her to pay prostitutes for "sexual favors." Unfortunately, the video went viral, as juicy gossip often does.
Powering Through
Instead of withering under the scrutiny of the media and the public, Marie decided to take drastic measures to amend her circumstances. She gathered her strength and took matters into her own hands by turning to a well-known life coach to get some communication about how to improve her life.
Marie contacted Iyanla Vanzant, who has her own show advising people about their relationships on the Oprah Network. Vanzant is a renowned author and motivational speaker with a huge post-obit due to her reputation for irresolute people's lives for the better.
The Truth Revealed
In some other surprising twist, when Marie went on the Iyanla: Set My Life talk testify, 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 about your brother that we lost. His altogether, he was the third kid, 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 just wanted you lot to better yourself for the babies."
The Scoop on Lamar McDow
Lamar "Hot Sauce" McDow was fortunate enough to stay in Marie's good graces long enough to fight jail three times, to the melody of millions in bail and legal fees. The first time Marie bailed him out, it price her $iii one thousand thousand in bond money.
Before a year had passed, Lamar was arrested again, and Marie bailed him out once again for $6 million. The third time Marie bailed out Lamar, it was $12 million. You would think she would have been repulsed by his criminal behavior, only 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 terminate upwardly with criminal charges herself. Unfortunately, that's exactly what happened. 1 night, Lamar violated his parole curfew. When the police 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 almost who is criminalized for it, according to the ACLU. The same number of white people as black people use marijuana, merely blacks are 3.73 times more likely to be arrested.
The Beau Defence force
Lamar somewhen got angry at the people criticizing Marie for spending her money bailing him out of jail, and he lashed out. To the Daily Mail, he asserted, "We are a couple, and I am the begetter 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 aforementioned for her. People are merely jealous because of how much she won, and people want 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 former friends started accusing her of actually stealing the lottery ticket from her mother, despite Fontella freely albeit on tv set that she had given the ticket to Marie.
To add to the stress and drama, Lamar went to jail at this time on a seven-yr sentence for charges related to possessing and selling heroin. Truthful to course, Marie persisted in pushing forward and moving on with her life, demonstrating her strength and resilience.
A Goal Met
Despite poor sense of taste in partners, Marie did brand some good decisions near what to exercise with some of her money. She ended up giving $nine.seven 1000000 to various charities. Part of that money went to the brand-new Marie Holmes Foundation, which was established to provide for children in need.
Marie'southward foundation provides necessities for underprivileged children. Information technology also holds customs events, which are how some children get their school supplies and their Christmas presents. The foundation helps struggling young mothers like Marie was earlier she won the lottery.
Do Christians Take chances?
Marie was raised a devout Catholic, and she leans heavily on her Christian faith. Some people criticized her for playing the lottery at all, because information technology tends to exist frowned upon by the church. People have mixed opinions when it comes to Christians gambling.
One pastor said this to the Christian Mail service: "You tin can't exist confronting the lottery, merely your youth section is doing a RAFFLE! Same affair, pastor. SAME Affair!" The stigma remains about gambling existence an irresponsible money-waster. Others argue that there is aught specific said about gambling in the Bible, so it's okay when information technology's not driveling.
The Root of All Evil
Other religious people, such equally 1 pastor cited in the Christian Post, 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, "First, we must guard confronting our honey of money."
It should be noted that when the Bible does mention "casting lots," it'south non ordinarily talking well-nigh textile proceeds, only virtually God. In an case of this, Proverbs sixteen:33 states, "The lot is cast into the lap, but its every decision 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's not at all easy to go from rags to riches, and similar versions of her story take happened to others.
It's important to sympathize tax laws for the long term, the rules of the lottery and investment options if you lot ever detect yourself in the position of receiving a large windfall of money. Be sure to hire a proficient professional financial practiced to assist you lot decide how to manage your money to avert reckless decisions.
A Cautionary Tale
If you e'er happen to discover 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 you summate 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 run into what your take-dwelling amount really is. Multiple millions of dollars may seem like an enormous amount, but every bit Marie discovered, it'southward easy to burn through it quickly if you are uninformed.
Further Drama
Some think that Marie had a run of terrible luck after she won the lottery, while others think she brought her woes upon herself with poor determination-making. A few think the truth lies somewhere in the center of those ii black-and-white judgments.
Bated from spending millions on her swain — who somewhen ended upwards in federal prison anyway — Marie also made some other questionable decisions afterwards winning the lotto, such as ownership her boyfriend a business organisation of his own and buying 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 Bottom Line
The ending of this story is by and large grim, although Marie Holmes did do some positive things with a lasting touch on before the last of her money was gone. She didn't seem to realize that she would be under a microscope with the media and the public.
Here are a couple more tips, just in example you ever hit it big: Don't trust anyone request for coin, even if they seem to accept a very respectable social status (like the pastor who sued Marie Holmes). Recall the good that money can do, but don't forget the bad. No thing what, don't make bold promises immediately after winning.
Source: https://www.reference.com/business-finance/what-not-to-do-if-you-win-lottery?utm_content=params%3Ao%3D740005%26ad%3DdirN%26qo%3DserpIndex
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