and find yourself richer by more than TWENTY MILLION DOLLARS?
That happened to a friend of mine last week. Her husband got a new job, with a significant pay increase. Not to the tune of millions of dollars, of course. But in the course of speaking with HR at the job he was leaving, he found that he had stock options from when his company went public while he was employed there (he'd been there a number of years, first while it was private and while it went public.) It's grown over the years and he found out he had 750,000 shares of stock he had forgotten/knew nothing about from when the company went public. Valued in the mid-thirties and he pays less than two dollars per share, so the net value is over twenty million dollars. His wife went through their office and found the certified letters with the information, unopened. I think he probably thought it was nothing, or another "day in the life of" because they were struggling through medical issues, surgeries, broken down cars, some (minor) litigation, her dad's house being foreclosed on, etc. So they're going from "I can't buy those shoes because we can't afford them" to having the kids' college paid for, taking family vacations in the next year, being able to pay for her dad's house and not having to worry about money, ever again.
I'm still dumbfounded, in shock and thrilled for her and her family. I could only think of two better people it could have happened to, and they happen to be me and someone related to me. lol. The moral of the story is always keep track of your benefits. You never know what you'll find.
How on earth didn't he know about this? After the company went public, didn't his coworkers (who presumably got the same windfall) start talking about all of the money they suddenly had? I truly don't understand how someone could be ignorant to this.
I can't imagine not knowing about having company stock. Even if you haven't cashed out it should be reflected in statements, at annual reviews (assuming he got more each year, not one lump sum), etc. This seems super odd that some light wouldn't have gone off when the company went public.
v - I'm with you there. But he just went in to work, hid in his little office, did a lot of work from home (he's in IT) and basically just did his thing, I suppose. Or maybe it wasn't so much a windfall as a development over the years since the company went public and so the employees got more of a trickle-down and, of course, the officers of said major corporation of course are worth the big bucks and it never registerd with him that since he was just an IT guy and not an officer that he had the same big lump of stock that they had when the company went public. She was still in the dumbfounded stages and I wasn't pressing her for a "how could you not know this stuff?" lol.
@sfgal530 - they're seeing a financial advisor. I'll tell her to make sure she has a tax specialist in the loop as well. And I'm totally with you on the 2012 bennies. Too late to mourn the lost benefits but better late than never.
Oh, and I'll go the flameworthy route -- I'm not surprised to learn that someone who somehow didn't know about 750,000 shares/$20 million of stock options, and ignored certified letters about them (like, didn't he think that if he had to sign for the thing, he should open it in case it was important?) was having a ton of financial problems. And I hope they are really careful with the money, because assuming that he's actually right and there isn't something more to this story and he actually gets his hands on the money, this has great "irresponsible lottery winner who lost everything" potential.
v - I know and I'm totally with you there so no flames. Fortunately his wife is somewhat level-headed (even with the financial difficulties) and I doubt they'll run through the money. I told her yesterday "I don't want to see you on that "lottery winners" show" and she laughed and said "hell no." She bought a new car over the weekend, and walked when she didn't like the deal and didn't like their negotiations. She managed to save $8K off the car by going elsewhere and dealing. And it's a budget-friendly SUV, nothing with a nameplate, because it "suits her and she loves it." It has all her options that the old one didn't have, and she paid less for hers, brand new, than I paid for mine, used, four years ago (and mine is a freaking Mazda, not anything fancy-schmancy.) And they're not buying a new house for another couple of years until the kids are out of their current school. He's oblivious but now that she's in the know, she'll handle it.
My ex used to hide bills in the desks while I was at work so I wouldn't know anything about them until after they came due, because we didn't have the money to pay them, but he'd tell me (and everyone else) that "the check was in the mail" or the bill was paid and so it was nothing I needed to worry about because it was taken care of...until I needed to worry about it. It's what I call the "Ostrich syndrome." Put your head in the sand and ignore it so it will go away because you can only deal with so much - deal with what you can deal with and ignore the rest. Until the rest falls in on you. It happens to a lot of poor and lower-middle-class and struggling families and families in crisis.
Um... yeah. That would definitely be shared only on a need-to-know basis. I certainly wouldn't be telling friends (partially because it is none of their business, partially because I wouldn't want them to want stuff from me, partially because it is braggy and gauche to do so, etc.)
And if there was someone I *needed* to tell, I would probably lie and say I won the lottery or inherited it or something so that people wouldn't think I was a complete idiot/fool.
Oh man, what a great and mind boggling story. This just confirms the control freak in me since I prefer to know exactly when bills get paid, the balances in our accounts, etc. I know trust is huge but OMG, to not know about $20 million is kind of insane. GL to them and I hope they find the right tax expert to help them out!
@sfgal530 - thanks for the advice. I'll pass it on. Hopefully someday we'll be in a similar situation and can use the same advice. Not bloody likely but we can dream.
I *think* they disbursed a small amount of them so far but the majority haven't been touched yet, ergo the financial advisor. My fingers are crossed on that much anyway. I don't know exactly but I might drop a word in her ear in the next day or so. If you have any other suggestions I can pass to her, have at it.
If you have any other suggestions I can pass to her, have at it.
"Don't use the money for anything (including, but not limited to, brand new cars) until competent professionals have helped you get a good financial plan in place and you have confirmed that this pile is money is worth what you believe it to be worth, after taxes and such" would be a good place to start.
This whole thing has bad news written all over it. And the more you tell us about them/their situation, the worse it sounds to me.
But also, why are you in charge of giving her advice?
v - I know and I'm totally with you there so no flames. Fortunately his wife is somewhat level-headed (even with the financial difficulties) and I doubt they'll run through the money. I told her yesterday "I don't want to see you on that "lottery winners" show" and she laughed and said "hell no." She bought a new car over the weekend, and walked when she didn't like the deal and didn't like their negotiations. She managed to save $8K off the car by going elsewhere and dealing. And it's a budget-friendly SUV, nothing with a nameplate, because it "suits her and she loves it." It has all her options that the old one didn't have, and she paid less for hers, brand new, than I paid for mine, used, four years ago (and mine is a freaking Mazda, not anything fancy-schmancy.) And they're not buying a new house for another couple of years until the kids are out of their current school. He's oblivious but now that she's in the know, she'll handle it.
My ex used to hide bills in the desks while I was at work so I wouldn't know anything about them until after they came due, because we didn't have the money to pay them, but he'd tell me (and everyone else) that "the check was in the mail" or the bill was paid and so it was nothing I needed to worry about because it was taken care of...until I needed to worry about it. It's what I call the "Ostrich syndrome." Put your head in the sand and ignore it so it will go away because you can only deal with so much - deal with what you can deal with and ignore the rest. Until the rest falls in on you. It happens to a lot of poor and lower-middle-class and struggling families and families in crisis.
Buying a new car w/o the money in hand? I smell trainwreck...
v - I'm not in charge. I just want to make sure she doesn't end up another victim of "sudden wealth syndrome" and has competent advisors. From my reading of her prior financial history, she's not gotten a lot of good advice or education in the past, resulting in some poor choices, and she doesn't come from a background that would make her familiar with it (similar to many of our friends-in-kind). She's a friend. You help friends if and when you can. Advice is free, and guiding her to proper professionals who can give her good advice is free (which is a hell of a lot more important than anything I can tell her - my advice is "these are the people you need to see, check with these organization and check their credentials and pick the one that you're most comfortable with and here are some questions they should be able to answer." I'm not giving her stock picks.) I'd rather give her advice or guidance or suggestions she can take (or not) than see her struggle or make mistakes that can impact her (and her family) incredibly down the road. She's astute and organized enough that it won't trickle (or pour) through their fingers thankfully. She's coming from a "family in crisis" and "not well educated financially" point of view. Once she knows her direction and can become educated she'll be fine. Right now she's still dumbfounded at the situation (resulting in the telling friends and stuff like that. She's still "Holy Crap"-ping.) and only has a short time to make decisions on how it should be handled. With only minimal background it's a crapshoot. There are others who feel the same and are helping to the best of their ability as well. She will be the one "in charge" with the specialists guiding her; we (all) just want to make sure she has the proper specialists. So far, my input has included "I am so happy for you" and a link to a Kiplinger's article re: background and licensure of professionals. That's what I mean by "advice and suggestions." I'm not in charge, but I can help her find people if she has questions.
There are a lot of extremely knowledgeable people here. It's a good resource.
genet313 - which is why she's seeing a financial advisor before they do anything with the balance of the stocks. They pulled out a small amount to pay for the immediate needs (and the car) but the vast, vast majority hasn't been touched until she can speak with a professional. I'll make sure she knows to speak with a tax professional in addition to the financial advisor before she makes any final decisions if she hasn't done so already.
Wow. I can't even imagine. But what a fun story. It takes all kinds, right? lol.
Can you imagine the delight and elation of finding something like that out though? I think I'm jealous of people who win the lottery just for the initial few moments of discovery.
I would be so happy and so pissed off all at the same time.
+1
Yeah, I kind of wonder how many scenarios like this end in divorce. I'd be incredibly angry and resentful that we struggled for so long when we didn't have to, and I'd have major issues with the fact that I married someone who was too irresponsible and stupid to realize that he had 750,000 shares of unexercised stock options lying around, and who maybe hid the related documents from me.
Oh wow. On the one hand, I agree with v. On the other, wow that is awesome. I would tell NO ONE though. Not a friggen soul.
I know! It would make it difficult to pay for her dad's house, but I would try to be as vague as possible. "Uh, don't worry, we found a way to take care of it."