How To Protect Yourself In A Lottery Pool

May 25, 2006, 10:39 pm (34 comments)

Texas Lottery

Now that $21 million in Texas Lottery prize money is in limbo as a result of a pending lawsuit that has frozen the money, many people wonder how they can protect themselves from falling victim of a lottery pool dispute.

The six Lubbock winners are being sued by a seventh person who claims, but has no written proof, that she was supposed to be included in the winnings.

Who could have thought a little piece of paper could cause so much trouble? More than money, a winning ticket could bring you complication, stress and legal trouble you never thought possible. Much like in any case, prevention is the best solution. So how can you kill controversy before it starts?

Your office pool has won the lottery. You and everyone in your pool is rich. But what if someone claims a stake in the winnings despite a loose affiliation with the pool? How do you protect yourself and your winnings? There is one fundamental rule.

"The secret is to get in with a group of people that you trust," advised Tommy Turner, a seasoned attorney with experience in civil disputes.

Turner says protecting your pool is easier than it sounds.

"It's not rocket science," he says. "You just write down what you want to do, how many tickets you're going to buy, who's going to buy them and how the proceeds are going to be split."

Referencing the current lotto lawsuit and advising against loose association, Turner explains that word of mouth agreements are risky ventures.

"The burden of proof is on the plantiff, the lady that said she was left out of the lottery. She has a tough lawsuit ahead of her," thinks Turner.

KAMC-28 spoke with Joel Rodriguez, who has been inspired by the local jackpot to start his own pool. After hearing of the lawsuit, he says his pool will have a contract so that he's sure to cover all his bases.

"I would explain it that, 'Hey, this is to protect everybody. That way if we do win, everybody's entitled to it and if you don't sign here, you have no legal right'," he says.

Legal right is what has the current lotto winners in so much trouble. So the next ime your office wants to try to cash in, make sure you're prepared just in case the impossible happens.

Turner went on to say that having your contract drafted by a lawyer is a good idea, but not essential to making the agreement binding.

KAMC-28 and Lottery Post Staff

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CalifDude

When I ran lottery pools for the jackpot games (California Super Lotto Plus), everyone that was in the pool printed their name on a piece of paper and showed that they had paid their $5.  After the tickets were purchased, everyone got a photo copy of all the tickets AND the list of names.  Although we never hit the big one, I also had the paperwork that California provided for lottery pools (all the legal stuff).

 

bellyache's avatarbellyache

I think having a contract drafted by a lawyer sounds like a good idea. I know you don't have to go through a lawyer, but I think it offers more protection against those people trying to claim a piece of the prize when they weren't in the pool.

RJOh's avatarRJOh

"The secret is to get in with a group of people that you trust," advised Tommy Turner, a seasoned attorney with experience in civil disputes.

The problems are the people not in the group wishing they had been in the pool after they hear about the win.  As long as anyone who think they should have been in the pool can sue   regardless of whether they contributed or not, there will be these types of problems.

justxploring's avatarjustxploring

"The secret is to get in with a group of people that you trust," advised Tommy Turner, a seasoned attorney with experience in civil disputes.

The problems are the people not in the group wishing they had been in the pool after they hear about the win.  As long as anyone who think they should have been in the pool can sue   regardless of whether they contributed or not, there will be these types of problems.

I Agree!

Hey - I've heard clerks saying they should get a share for selling the winning ticket, so this doesn't surprise me.

LOTTOMIKE's avatarLOTTOMIKE

i would join a lottery pool in a minute if i knew someone in my area doing one.i don't mind sharing 50 million with fifteen people.......

DoubleDown

I will get into a pool today, as we are expecting temps in the high 90's

LOL

DD

CASH Only

The other thing you have to do is make sure the pool chooses lump sum BEFORE you join. What if you join the pool, and after winning the pool the group (not you) chooses annuity?

tg636

The problem is when you have someone who is sometimes in the pool and sometimes not in. The win comes when they were on vacation or claim they asked Joe to front them the money or they were going to pay on wednesday, always some excuse. So even though they didn't really pay they feel entitled.  After all, the money is so close and the others wouldn't be so cruel as to deny them a share of the jackpot just because they were a little late with the money...would they? Why, yes they would, as they should. 

It seems to me to the best solution is to kick problem people out immediately and permanently unless you are willing to give a share of the jackpot to a freeloader or be sued by them later.

It's tough to be left out in the cold because you wouldn't give your dollar in time, but that's the nature of the lottery beast. 

 

bambini

Its really simple, if its not in writing, it doesn't exsist!

LottoGroups's avatarLottoGroups

I protect the interests of all members by:

1. Tracking all members on our lotto groups website.

2. Sending an email to all members before each ticket purchase. Your name must be on the list to be considered part of the group. A very extensive paper trail. Very unlikely someone could win a case against us.

It is worth the extra work given the dramaticaly increased odds of winning when part of a group.

beebobb

Why play?

four4me

quote: "You just write down what you want to do, how many tickets you're going to buy, who's going to buy them and how the proceeds are going to be split."


All members pay in advance. write each members name that's in the pool. No additional members after tickets are purchased. make no promises to people that aren't in the pool unless it's in writing. Like if Joe/smoe was out the day the tickets were bought and he/she didn't pay in advance then their not in it for that drawing.

ochoop17

It's simple, pay, signed your name, and get copies of tickets.

RJOh's avatarRJOh

Work place lottery pools work fine until they win some money and some coworkers not in the pool start thinking of the winnings as free money to be shared with them. 

Some will even file a frivolous law suit hoping pool members will opt to share their winnings rather than have the expense of a trial and a long wait to get their money. 

If more pool managers made copies of the pool tickets with member names for each member before the drawings then there would be less chances of someone claiming they thought they were included in the pool even if they didn't contribute to it. 

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