How to Transfer Lottery Winnings to a Surviving Spouse in the State of Georgia
Winning the lottery can change your life. For family members, lottery winnings can trigger an estate-tax problem if the lottery winner didn't adequately plan for the future. If you want to transfer your lottery winnings to a surviving spouse in Georgia upon your passing away, it's best to put estate planning tools in place to accomplish this. However, even if a lottery winner is deceased, it's possible to move funds to a surviving spouse as long as estate documents haven't already been filed that move the money to another individual upon the lottery winner's death.
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Instructions
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Find the estate documents of the deceased lottery winner. Although Georgia does not allow assignment of lottery winnings, they make an exception for the winner's estate. Fill out standard probate court forms on the Judicial Branch of Georgia website. File these forms with the local probate court.
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After the probate process, get a certified copy of the will from the courthouse. If the lottery winner had an estate naming you as beneficiary of the winnings, you'll be able to use this with the lottery commission. If not, Georgia intestacy law requires the surviving spouse to share the estate with surviving children. If there are no children, the surviving spouse will be sole heir.
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Contact a Georgia lottery district office to notify officials of the death of the prize recipient. Lottery district office phone numbers are listed on the Georgia lottery website. You should be prepared to show a certified death certificate, a marriage certificate, photo identification and estate documents proving that you're the beneficiary of the lottery winnings.
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Complete paperwork determining tax withholding and a new address for the surviving spouse and any other claimants. Ask about having proceeds directly deposited into an account rather than having a check sent from the lottery office. If the claim isn't processed within a few weeks, contact the lottery office to follow up.
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