GREENSBORO, N.C. — One lucky person in Wisconsin won the $700 million Powerball jackpot Wednesday, and pretty soon the entire world will know his or her name.
Wisconsin is not one of the six states (Delaware, Kansas, Maryland, North Dakota, Ohio and South Carolina) in which winners can remain anonymous. Neither is North Carolina. But, is there a way to circumvent the rule?
VERIFY QUESTION
Michelle Adamson asked, "Can you claim lottery winnings through a trust in North Carolina?"
VERIFY SOURCES
Robert Denton - Communications Director for NC Lottery
Forbes Magazine
VERIFY PROCESS
Forbes explained all states have different rules. In North Carolina, information for prize winners of $600 or more become public record under state law. Each winner must disclose his or her name, city or town, game played, date of the claim and the amount. Compare these rules to those of New Hampshire, for example, and winners can claim winnings in a trust with a non-identifying name.
Denton explained the answer to Adamson's question is partly true and partly false. It is true a NC lottery winner can claim a lottery prize in the name of a trust, but it cannot be a blind trust.
This means the winner must disclose the name of the trustee, the grantor and the beneficiaries as winners, too. The only exceptions are in the NC Lottery Act, in which certain winners can exclude information if they have protective orders or are part of the address confidentiality program.
VERIFY CONCLUSION
It is true a NC lottery winner can put winnings in a trust, but he or she still has to disclose his or her name. And, in opening a trust, he or she is jeopardizing the privacy of other people, too.
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