The Daily Interview: Handling the Slings and Arrows of Outrageous Fortune

Sometimes it takes just as much luck for lottery winners to hold on to their money as it does to win it in the first place.

Daniel Moisand President Optimum Financial Group

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Daniel Moisand, a financial planner and president of Optimum Financial Group in Melbourne, Fla., knows this well. He's advised a number of lottery winners who've won several million dollars each. While he's had clients spend money on such extravagant things as a $250,000 underwater aquarium or a fleet of planes for their children, most are conservative investors whose diversified holdings are keeping them above water in this hazardous market.

Moisand explains how he keeps these millionaires from blowing through their newfound riches.

TSC: What's the first thing you advise new lottery winners to do?

Moisand: We tell them to declare a decision-free period of time, usually at least six months, where they will commit to not make any significant purchases or decisions. This gives them a defense mechanism whereby they can tell people, "Look, I'm not making any decisions until I get my ducks in a row." Most people understand this. The ones that don't are usually people you don't need to be doing business with in the first place. ...