DEAR BRUCE: A relative recently won a large sum of money in the lottery. She opted for an annuity. She was told that it's better to take the cash option. Which choice is better if you're expected to win more than $10 million? -- Reader, via e-mail

DEAR READER: Everybody would like to win more than $10 million, but the number that the lottery advertises is not what they're willing to pay. It's what they will pay over a very substantial number of years by purchasing an insurance annuity. It is almost never a good choice to take the annuity. You're far better off to pay the taxes and have the use of the money immediately. I would make that information available to your relative. She should also be talking to a very competent accountant who knows current tax laws. He or she will persuade her that the annuity option is not a good one.

DEAR BRUCE: I'm 53 and make about $72,000 a year. My wife makes $56,000 a year. My 401(k) at work is now worth $190,000, down from $215,000 six months ago. To compound matters, it has performed very poorly over the last five years. I have it as diversified as possible (moderate stock funds, some fixed money accounts), but we are very limited in choices. I realize that the recent decline is due to the economic downturn, but the poor performance over the previous five years is an indicator the funds used by my company leave much to be desired. Aside from leaving the company and getting a lump sum to rollover into a external account, is there anything I can do with that money to get more choices and control without paying withdrawal and penalty charges? -- S.W., via e-mail

DEAR S.W.: You've mentioned that your 401(k) is down $25,000. That's only about a 12 percent drop, which is remarkably small. I wish my retirement accounts had fallen by so little in the last half year. It sounds to me like you have picked a conservative mix, and you've picked well, although the conservative mix is going to result in "poor performance" in a market we enjoyed a few years ago. That's all history. You're going to have to stay where you are. You might examine all of the choices, and you may wish to reallocate some of this money.

DEAR BRUCE: Does an estate attorney have the right to divulge the contents of a will he has written without permission from the people who trusted him to write their wills? Is it against the law, or is it just an ethical breach, even if, as a result, the owners of the wills fell victim to peculiar events that led to their premature deaths? -- S.K., via e-mail

DEAR S.K.: I am not at all certain of the time frame here. Generally speaking, an attorney who has written a will has a confidential relationship with his or her client. It certainly is an unethical breach to divulge that information unless the people who trusted him to write their wills gave permission. You say the owners of the will fell "victim," and that lead to their deaths? I would be very interested to hear what you are talking about. That would set an entirely different light on this transaction, and it does sound a little sinister.