Florida Statute 24.1153: Assigning Lottery Prize Payments

Florida Statute 24.1051 does not govern the assignment of lottery winnings, despite how often it gets cited that way. Section 24.1051 actually sets out exemptions from public records inspection for the Florida Department of the Lottery.¹ The statute that controls transferring future annual lottery payments to a third party for a lump sum is Section 24.1153.² The two numbers get mixed up constantly, and the difference matters the moment you need to file a court petition or read the actual law.

What Section 24.1153 Covers

Section 24.1153 applies only to lottery prizes that the Florida Department of the Lottery pays out in annual installments. If you already took your prize as a one-time lump sum, this statute does not apply to you. For winners receiving installment payments, the law permits a voluntary transfer of some or all remaining payments to a designated person or company, but only after a court approves the deal.²

The mechanics are simple. A third-party buyer pays you a discounted lump sum now, and the Florida Lottery redirects your future installment checks to that buyer. You get immediate cash. They profit from the spread. The statute exists so winners are not exploited in the trade.

Written Contract, Disclosure, and Cancellation Rights

Before anything reaches a courtroom, the deal has to clear several conditions built into the statute. The agreement must be a written contract signed by the winner, and it must specify that Florida law governs the transaction.²

The buyer must also hand you a one-page disclosure statement covering the key financial terms: which payments are being assigned (amounts and dates), the purchase price, the discount rate used to calculate present value (assuming daily compounding and funding on the contract date), and any origination or closing fees you will pay. That disclosure has to be printed in bold type no smaller than 14 points, roughly the size of a newspaper headline.³

You also get a three-business-day cancellation window. The buyer must tell you in writing, at the time you sign, that you can walk away within three business days with no penalty or further obligation.² If a buyer pressures you to waive that cooling-off period, treat it as a red flag.

The Sworn Affidavit and Independent Advice

The winner must file a sworn affidavit confirming several things before the court will consider the assignment. You attest that you are of sound mind and are not acting under pressure from anyone.²

You also have to confirm that you received advice from your own independent lawyer, someone not related to the buyer and not paid by the buyer or any affiliated company. On top of that, you need independent financial or tax advice from a separate professional who is likewise unconnected to the buyer.³ The statute is strict here on purpose. The dollars are large, and assignment companies have an obvious incentive to steer you toward their preferred advisors.

The affidavit must also state that you understand you will not receive the assigned payments going forward and that the Department of the Lottery has no further obligation to pay you for those installments.²

The Discount Rate Cap

The purchase price must represent the present value of the payments being assigned, discounted at an annual rate that does not exceed Florida’s usury limit for loans.² Under Florida Statute 687.02, the general usury ceiling is 18% per year simple interest.⁴

In practice, that means the buyer can discount your future payments by up to 18% annually when calculating the offer. The ceiling is generous to the buyer. A 10% discount rate on $50,000 in annual payments over 15 remaining years produces a lump sum well below the total face value of those payments. At 18%, the haircut is dramatically larger. Negotiating the rate down from the statutory maximum is where independent financial advice earns its keep.

Getting Court Approval

No assignment takes effect without a court order. You file a petition in the circuit court of the judicial district where you live or where the Florida Lottery headquarters sits, which is Tallahassee.²

Written notice of the proposed assignment and the hearing must go to the Department of the Lottery’s legal counsel at least 10 days before the hearing date. The Department does not have to appear or be named as a party, but it has the right to intervene if it chooses.³

At the hearing, the judge reviews whether every statutory condition has been met: the written contract, the disclosure, the affidavit, the independent advice, the cancellation notice, and the discount rate cap. Only after the court confirms the assignment is proper will it issue an order directing the Department to redirect payments to the buyer.

Child Support and State Agency Debt Offsets

An assignment cannot cover payments that are subject to offset for delinquent child support or money you owe a state agency. The court order itself must require the Department to satisfy those debts first, deducting them from remaining payments before anything reaches the buyer.² If you owe back child support, the state collects before the assignment company sees a dollar.

Federal Tax Consequences Worth Knowing

Florida has no state income tax, but federal taxes still apply to lottery winnings, and an assignment can create complications. Under the doctrine of constructive receipt, the IRS generally requires taxpayers to include income they had an unrestricted right to demand, even if they chose not to collect it. For lottery winners, that matters because choosing between a lump sum and an annuity at the moment of winning could trigger immediate taxation on the full lump-sum value.

Federal law carves out an exception under 26 U.S.C. § 451(j). If a lottery awards you a “qualified prize option” exercisable within 60 days of winning, you can elect the annuity without the lump-sum option being treated as constructive receipt. A qualified prize must be payable over at least 10 years and cannot relate to past services.⁵

Assignment complicates this. That 60-day safe harbor applies at the moment you win. If you initially elected the annuity and later assign those payments to a third party for a lump sum, you are exercising a buyout well outside the 60-day window. The IRS could argue you are in constructive receipt of the full lump-sum value even while still receiving annual checks. Get thorough tax advice before signing anything, because a miscalculation here can mean an enormous unexpected tax bill.

Impact on Needs-Based Government Benefits

Receiving a large lump sum from an assignment can affect eligibility for needs-based programs like Supplemental Security Income. SSI looks at both monthly income and total resources. The federal SSI payment maximum for 2026 is $994 per month for an individual and $1,491 for a couple.⁶ A lump-sum assignment payment counts as income in the month received and can push your resources above the program limit, suspending benefits until your countable resources drop back below the threshold. If you receive SSI or a similar means-tested benefit, factor that in before assigning your payments.

1
Online Sunshine. Florida Statutes Section 24.1051 – Exemptions From Inspection or Copying of Public Records
2
Florida Senate. Florida Statutes Chapter 24 Section 1153 – Assignment of Prizes Payable in Installments
3
Online Sunshine. Florida Statutes Section 24.1153 – Assignment of Prizes Payable in Installments
4
Online Sunshine. Florida Statutes Chapter 687 – Interest and Usury
5
Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 26 USC 451 – General Rule for Taxable Year of Inclusion
6
Social Security Administration. SSI Federal Payment Amounts for 2026