Jason M. Kurland of Rivkin Radler in New York. Courtesy photo.

It's the problem everyone wishes they had. Who to turn to after a $1.6 billion lottery win? The record-breaking Mega Millions jackpot, which has birthed a new hashtag, #IfIWonABillionDollars, hasn't seen a winner since July 25, and the odds of winning stand at about one in 303 million.

But here's some legal advice for the winner—you know, just in case.

Lottery lawyer Jason M. Kurland of Rivkin Radler in New York recommends signing the ticket before doing anything else. That's because it's a bearer instrument, which means, as Kurland notes, that “whoever hands it in to the Lottery Commission with their name on the back of it is the winner.”

In other words: Losing an unsigned ticket means also losing the prize.

Kurland stresses the importance of lawyering up, because going it alone is often “too overwhelming” for a lottery winner.

“You're in a world that you're not accustomed to being in,” Kurland said. “So if you have an advocate who's been there before, someone who you know has your back, it's really invaluable.”

Losing an unsigned ticket, means also losing the prize. Mega Millions Florida lottery ticket. Photo: Boofoto/Shutterstock.com.

States such as Delaware, Kansas, Maryland, North Dakota, Ohio, South Carolina and Texas allow winners to keep their identities secret, but most don't. And under most Right-to-Know laws, that information falls under the public records umbrella. The reasoning: It doesn't aid public trust in the lottery process to have all winners remain anonymous.

'Let Someone Else Sign the Back of a $1.6 Billion Ticket'

To the lucky winner, “be prepared to be contacted by media—and long lost relatives,” said Miami bankruptcy lawyer Monique D. Hayes, who advises securing home and family before going public.

That's easier to do in states such as Pennsylvania, which have allowed winners to have an independent trustee, usually an attorney, sign the lottery ticket and then send the money to a trust account.

Related: Fox Rothschild Lawyer Claims $457M Jackpot Ticket With Trust

In March, New Hampshire Judge Charles S. Temple ruled that the winner of a $560 million Powerball jackpot could remain a Jane Doe after she'd signed the ticket, but did allow the name of her town, Merrimack, to become public.

That said, Kurland “would not blame” the winner for signing the ticket and “just dealing with” the resulting publicity. “It's very scary to let someone else sign the back of a $1.6 billion ticket,” he said.

Andrew Santana of Fox Rothschild, Pennsylvania. Courtesy photo.

In March, Andrew D. Santana, managing partner of Fox Rothschild in Pennsylvania, signed a winning lottery ticket on behalf of an anonymous client, who sent the funds to an entity called Emerald Legacy Trust.

The $273.9 million cash prize became $199.8 million after taxes.

According to Santana, he had to “threaten” litigation with the Department of Revenue to maintain confidentiality.

“I had a lot of phone calls from a lot of different people who were trying to get them. They'd offer me investment opportunities,” Santana said. “There were charitable people and other strange phone calls from people who claimed the ticket was stolen from them.”

Santana worked with financial advisory firms and services to help his client manage the money without revealing the winner's identity.

California trust and estates attorney Richard M. Aaron, of Dowling Aaron Inc., pointed out that his state and many others that prohibit anonymity don't force winners to have pictures taken.

In Aaron's mind, appearing on TV is ”a serious error in judgment,” as it makes winners and their family ”targets to everything from charities, both phony and legitimate, friends, distant relatives, neighbors, complete strangers, financial scammers and maybe worse.”

What could go wrong?

In November 2015, Craigory Burch Jr. landed more than $400,000 in the Georgia lotto, before being murdered by seven masked man who broke into his home, demanding money. According to police, Burch was a “preselected” target, and had posed for a photo with a gigantic check two months earlier.

'They Are Giddy'

“What people generally don't realize is that with sudden wealth comes sudden responsibilities and problems,” Aaron said.

Having dealt with many clients who have “suddenly become wealthy,” including lottery winners, professional athletes and business owners selling their shop, Aaron said he's witnessed clients struggle to grasp “what wealth really means.”

“When an ordinary person wins a lot of money, they feel a rush of emotions. They are giddy,” he said. “Then they can go from feeling fortunate to feeling guilty, and from being happy to feeling targeted. All of these emotions can leave a lottery winner feeling distressed.”

The best way to mitigate the chaos, according to Aaron, is to set up boundaries and procedures—both personal and financial.

“Even a big number is finite,” he said.