Hitting the Jackpot

On my way to the studio, I couldn't help but wonder: A) What would I do with that kind of money? and B) Was I about to make a complete fool out of myself on live television? Even after the segment was over, the second question was difficult to answer. But the first one was easy: I'd buy a charming brownstone near Central Park, a county house on Cape Cod and some sort of vehicle to get me back and forth.

I assume we all have these little fantasies — even if we never expect to find ourselves in this situation. Truth is, though, while for most folks the road to riches is not lined with lottery tickets, at some point many of us will indeed suddenly find ourselves in possession of a large lump of money. A cash windfall can come for lots of reasons, including retirement, winning a legal or divorce settlement, selling a business, cashing in stock options and receiving a severance package. Most commonly, though, it's through an inheritance. Consider this: From 1998 to 2017, as much as $18 trillion in assets will be passed along as the parents of the baby boomers (and even the baby boomers themselves) pass away, according to a study by the Social Welfare Research Institute at Boston College. "I call it the financial planning trend of the decade," says certified financial planner Susan Bradley, author of "Sudden Money: Managing a Financial Windfall."

So what do you do if you suddenly find yourself with a pot of gold? You chill. Across the board, experts say the first thing you should do is dump the money into a money-market account and allow it to sit there for a while — possibly even a year or more — while you come up with a solid game plan. Sure, you can treat yourself to something fun, says Dee Lee, a Harvard, Mass.-based CFP. But keep the splurging under control. After all, we've all heard the sad stories of lottery winners who find themselves broke a few years down the line after they've fallen prey to lousy investment advice and doled out cash to everyone from their second cousin once removed to the local feral-cat coalition.

Fortunately, those who receive cash windfalls through an inheritance (or some other event that isn't a total surprise) are less likely to run into these problems, particularly if they already have experience managing their finances. But anyone can feel unduly pressured when they suddenly see a lot of zeros, notes Mari Adam, a CFP based in Boca Raton, Fla. And that can lead to costly mistakes.

So here's your I-Just-Struck-It-Rich survivor kit.