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VERIFY: Can You Stay Anonymous Putting Lottery Winnings In A Trust in NC?

You ask; we VERIFY. If you win the lottery in North Carolina, can you go around the no-anonymity rule by putting your winnings in a trust?

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.

Do you have a VERIFY inquiry? Reach out to Meghann Mollerus via:

Facebook: Meghann Mollerus News

E-mail: Mmollerus@wfmy.com

Twitter: @MeghannMollerus

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