Wondering what to do after winning a lawsuit? #LawsuitVictory #LegalAdvice
Congratulations on your lawsuit win! Now that you’ve emerged victorious, it’s important to take the right steps to ensure you make the most of your success. Here’s what you should do next:
1. Celebrate your victory
Take a moment to bask in the glory of your win. Winning a lawsuit can be a long and challenging process, so be sure to pat yourself on the back for your hard-earned success.
2. Collect your winnings
Make sure to follow up with the court or your legal representation to collect any monetary awards or damages that were awarded to you as part of the lawsuit.
3. Update your records
It’s important to update your personal records with the outcome of the lawsuit. This can include notifying credit agencies, updating your personal files, and informing relevant parties of the verdict.
4. Consider your next steps
Now that the lawsuit is behind you, take some time to consider what your next steps should be. Whether it’s seeking further legal action, investing your winnings, or simply moving on, it’s important to have a plan in place.
5. Seek legal advice
If you’re unsure of what to do next or have any questions about the implications of your lawsuit win, it’s always a good idea to seek the advice of a legal professional. They can provide guidance on how to proceed and ensure you’re making informed decisions.
Remember, winning a lawsuit is a significant achievement, so be sure to make the most of your success by following these tips. Good luck on your next legal journey! #LegalSuccess #WhatToDoAfterWinningLawsuit
TELL NO ONE. EVER. PERIOD.
Interview 3-4 financial advisors and pick one you get a good feeling with. Make sure you are speaking with fee-only, fiduciary advisors.
DO NOT make any big purchases. This is enough money to retire on forever, if you want to, but only if you stay disciplined and frugal with your spending. Remember, a million bucks isn’t what it used to be. YOU ARE NOT RICH. A safe withdrawal rate from a properly diversified index portfolio would pay you around $50k/year pre-tax.
Don’t get a financial advisor. If they were any good at managing money they wouldn’t be a financial advisor. Put the money into a broad ETF of your choice (SPY,VOO,etc).
Don’t respond to any DMs. Don’t do anything for at least a month (except pay off personal debt). Find a fiduciary investment advisor.
Personally what I’d do:
-pay off any high interest debts
-buy a house that fits with my previous income, so no luxury villas or anything, if already owning a house: pay off mortgage
-put away a sizable chunk in low risk investing/pension scheme
-consider a career change, perhaps study again.
-keep a chunk liquid (i.e. bank account)
-put the rest in a more risky investment fund.
Open a brokerage and put 75% in VOO and the rest in a HYSA. Cashing in just 3.5% of this every year is $49k a year or $4083 a month for perpetuity without ever running down the principle.
You’re basically already retired. Don’t fuck it up.
Don’t tell anyone else about the win. Anyone who you already told? Any follow up respond with a generic reply that you had bills to pay. Do not give anyone money. Do not give the impression you will gift or loan money. Don’t go impulse buying cars and houses.   Â
Like others said, the money isn’t going anywhere. Take your time deciding. Research stuff here. Services like financial advisors or planners often have a free phone call to pitch their services. You can listen to them and take notes. If you are prone to falling for pressure don’t listen, but if you are good resistance you can listen and get a feeling.  Â
Take your time. You may need 3 months before the “high” wears off and you can think logically. It’s okay to admit you need that time.Â
Dont tell anyone buddy, rest is easier
FDIC only insures up to $250k so move the $1.4 million broken out between accounts until you figure out what to do.
Edit – Spread $1.4 between accounts.
Throw it into ETFs and don’t touch it until retirement. If you start to spend it, don’t withdraw any more than $40k per year
I know some that spent this amount in 1 month – its easier than you think
Get it invested w a fiduciary, you can probably live off the interest or at least some of it without touching the principle
One thing to do right away is to make sure that the money is NOT in your checking account and that there is no card associated with the account it’s in. Make sure at the very least it’s in a high yield savings account at a bank. While you figure out what you are going to do that money will make you 6 grand a month in interest alone. If it’s in a checking account or a savings account in a brick and mortar bank it’ll make you practically zero.
Tell no-one, get it out of your checking and into an interest-bearing HYSA.
THEN you can look into whether you want to self-manage or if you want to find a fiduciary fee-based advisor to manage your money.
Try not to panic, this is a good thing all round. I know it’s outside your comfort zone but it will be fine. You can take as much time as you need to figure it all out and make sure you are making the right decisions. Don’t be pushed into anything you don’t want to do or you don’t feel comfortable about. If someone advises you to do X, spend a few days researching it (you are a millionaire, you can take the time) and THEN make a decision.
100% get with a financial advisor or fiduciary. If you were poor before you’ll end up reverting to the mean by trying to do it on your own and be poor again.
For the love of God and yourself, **DO NOT IMPULSE BUY LARGE AND EXPENSIVE THINGS**
Okay, with that out of the way, reading the wiki here and reading up on basic personal finance should be enough to settle you. Once you’re settled, take the time to understand the best way to secure and grow your wealth into the future.
I highly recommend as well to keep the knowledge of acquiring this money as close to your chest as possible. Money changes people, and the likelihood of you being targeted for schemes and “business ideas” just skyrocketed. Don’t put things in writing unless you mean it and don’t promise/give money directly to anyone.
Don’t take any risk at the beginning
Take low-risk or zero-risk investment while the interest rate is high like GIC
Learn long-term investment, Poor Charlie’s Almanack
If you want to buy something expensive, hold on for 30 days before purchasing it
I would talk to a bunch of financial advisors, and get different options. If it’s medical malpractice, you may need to look into care costs for the future. Which do need to be planned out. It is very easy to see this as a lot of money, because it is. Medical equipment and therapies for the rest of your life are expensive, too.
I know someone who got $3M from a lawsuit over a car accident in which he lost a foot (back when $3M was worth a lot more) and he burned through it by not working, supporting his lazy friends and smoking a lot of pot. Now he has no money or foot. So don’t do that.
Follow the wiki linked in the other comment, but in general, I’d carve out 6 months expenses and put that in a High Yield Savings Account (HYSA) and drop the rest in an index fund. The rule of thumb is that you can pull out 4% per year and your money will grow about the same as inflation. I’d pull out $56,000 a year ($4,666.67/month) for the next year and then re-calculate next year. Keep your job, keep contributing to 401k and IRA but live a bit larger than your income would typically allow.
1. Pay off any and all debt you have
2. Act like you didn’t get a dime
3. Put most of it in a sp 500 (advisor will help)
4. Check back in like 10-15 years
DO NOT UNDER ANY CIRCUMSTANCES tell your friends or extended family about this. Countless people will come out of the weeds asking for money or expect you to pay for things when they are around you. If someone does not absolutely need to know about this (partner, etc), do not tell them about the windfall.
First of all, calm down haha
Why he advised to get a financial advisor is because with such amounts of money, inflation will really hurt it if you do not make it do something. Every modern currency is worth less every day, because there is more in circulation. Because of that, people put their money into assets such as stocks, houses, bonds to offset the inflation – make money with money.
1.4m sitting in a bank account is going to lose value over the years, thats why investing it into a diversified portoflio (fancy word meaning you don’t invest 1.4m into one stock/bond etc.) but combine your investment into fractions, so if one goes bad you don’t lose everything.
Be careful on the internet about financial advise and advisors in general, not many work in your interest and you invest safely by reading a book or listening to a few lectures or economics.
To get started, learn about how compound interest works, what is generally a safe investement (indexes, bonds etc.)
I am happy for you, please be careful with who you trust with that money, better to learn yourself about how investment works etc. than to give off your decisions to a random guy.
DO NOT TRY TO GUESS THE MARKET. Park it somewhere, forget it and live a stress free life.
open an etrade / morgan stanley account. google “etf” pick one of the top 10 that sounds good to you.
Do not tell your family members or friends the size and scope of your settlement.
People all need money, and every story is sad. It should be up to you to pick who in your family needs help the most, it’s not up to them to pitch you until you pay them to go away. This ruins relationships.
Try not to go wild with your spending until you have a plan and budget.
If you have high interest debts, you can pay those off.
Something to think about.. if you put the money in your mattress (no investments at all), you can withdraw $50,000 per year for 28 years before you run out. This is a starting point, not saying you should. But there are safer investments that can easily extend the years, possibly enough to cover the $50,000 for the rest of your life.
I think what your lawyer meant is to find a fiduciary. It’s a financial advisor that works in your favor.
A financial advisor would help you to invest your money. For example in an ETF e.g. MSCI World. But you have to trust him, so better inform yourself, if you are able to.
However, depending on your age, you can also just “invest” in your dream holiday, a house or whatever.
Absolutely do not rush to do anything. The money isn’t going anywhere. Give yourself 3-6 months to let it sink in and do some research and thinking about how to proceed.
A financial advisor is a bad idea. Spend time reading here and on Bogleheads.org