It’s a moment that most people dream about: winning the lottery. After all — you’ve probably checked the Euromillions results once or twice, or another lottery for that matter. Winning the lottery is a dream that many people wish would come true. It would change a lot of things — sometimes, those changes might be stronger than we think. We don’t realize all of the things that change once we win something like the lottery — especially those big jackpots! You might not realize it at the beginning, but a lawyer is really one of the best resources that you could ever have. For starters, a lawyer is going to focus on making sure that you have exactly what you need, when you need it. The last thing that you want to do is find yourself being without legal representation for any lawsuit.

Lawsuits? Yes, that’s right — people are going to come out of the woodwork. Debts that were forgiven in the past but never put into writing may come back to haunt you. People might sue because they felt that you did them wrong is another area. These lawsuits will probably be thrown out, but what if they aren’t? You’ll be pressured to make a fair settlement, and that can really eat into your lottery profits.

Taxes are another area where lawyers can help. Figuring out tax law when you have significant money to take care of is going to be difficult. The reality of life is that you need to make sure that you are settling your tax debts. Be sure to handle any back taxes that you owe so that they don’t grow out of hand. If you don’t take your taxes seriously, the IRS can indeed freeze your accounts so you’ll never get to enjoy the money that you just won. On top of the taxes that you owed previously for your regular income, you’ll also owe taxes on the lottery itself.

You also need to make sure that you know how your money is going to be distributed. It’s easy to assume that you’re going to get a lump sum payment, but the highest lotteries pay out an annual amount. You’ll still need to take out taxes, but it will be up to you to figure out how that money is going to be taken care of.

A lawyer can step in and give you advice when everyone else seems to want to take you to the cleaners. Yes, a lawyer is going to be a bit more expensive than hiring a hairdresser, but the experience is arguably far more valuable. A hairdresser is not going to be able to give you estate planning advice, or to tell you how to handle investments and even commercial real estate deals. These are all things that a lawyer can help you with, so don’t hesitate to get started today!