When lottery winnings are paid out over 10 to 20 years, it sometimes makes it very difficult for the winner to put his/her money to good use in a timely fashion. Many lottery winners, therefore, prefer to convert their annual payments into a large lump sum payment and take complete control over their lottery winnings.

However, it must be noted that most lottery winnings are non-assignable and you would, therefore, almost always need a court approval before you can possibly "sell" or "transfer" your rights to periodic payments guaranteed by your lottery prizes.

It is not impossible, however, to accomplish that considering there are many discount brokers or factoring companies that offer such services. Of course, one has to follow the legal processes and go through the entire judicial maze, but it is not difficult to secure the necessary court orders authorizing reassignment of your lottery winnings -especially if you were to retain services of experienced traders or factoring companies that specialize in discounting of lottery prizes.