How to manage your lottery millions - what this lawyer says you HAVE to do immediately you win

CBS News legal analyst Jack Ford offers some free advice to the winner or winners of the $500 million Powerball jackpot.

It’s easy to get excited about your win and forget the important parts that could affect your whole life. Good advice that’s still current in this 2012 interview by CBS News with lawyer Jack Ford.

Inside America's lottery empire...how Mega Millions and Powerball grew so big [VIDEO]

While Mega Millions and Powerball jackpots have grown in recent years, America's lottery system goes back a long time. Lotteries in colonial times helped finance some of America's roads, bridges, and schools like Harvard and Yale. Today, state-sponsored lotteries contribute millions state budgets, but some critics question how effective they actually are.

Is this the secret to today’s enormous jackpots? The main prizes for the Mega Millions and Powerball have been on the rise since the two struck a deal to cross-sell tickets in each others' member states in 2010. But there’s much more to the story. CNBC investigates in this fascinating documentary.

Here's 8 of the biggest lottery jackpots up to 2019 that will astound you [VIDEO]

Check out the BIGGEST Jackpot Lottery Winners Ever! From becoming a multimillionaire in a day to some of the luckiest powerball winners, this top 10 list of largest jackpots won by lucky people will amaze you! Subscribe to World5List: http://goo.gl/cpJSA6 Check out our "Superpowers You Can Get RIGHT NOW!"

This video list of giant wins includes $564 Million - Marie Holmes of North Carolina, $587.5 Million shared by Matthew Good and the Hill Family, $590.5 Million - Gloria MacKenzie, $648 million dollars (2013)- Steve Tran and Ira Curry, $656 Million Dollars - three groups of people, $758.7 Million - Mavis L. Wanczyk of Chicopee, Massachusetts, and $1.537 billion and $1.586 billion.

These Powerball lottery winners gave great advice that could save you millions

These Powerball lottery winners gave great advice that could save you millions

$293 million Powerball winner Cindy Hill holds the microphone to daughter Jaiden, as husband Mark and sons Jason and Cody look on. They won half of the $587.5 million Powerball jackpot in that draw. Photo: Dave Kaup/Reuters

When a Forbes Magazine writer wrote about an Arizona Powerball win in 2012, she gave some good advice from the anonymous winners on how to handle their win.

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Ellen asks $1.6 Billion Powerball winners how it felt to win ... no surprise there!

The winners of the biggest Powerball jackpot in history told Ellen about their life-changing lottery ticket.

"It's a dream," said John Robertson, a $1.6 Billion Powerball shared winner, to Ellen Degeneres on The Ellen Show, "and I don't want to wake up right now!" John and Lisa collected a third share in the 2016 draw, which amounted to nearly $529 million. The couple spoke to her on the popular daily show about their gigantic win and also revealed to Ellen when they bought tickets.

Which lottery games are plunging in popularity and how can you take advantage of it?

Which lottery games are plunging in popularity and how can you take advantage of it?

Is a $3 Million game still worth playing any longer? New York Lottery winner James Jess thinks so.

It's all about the numbers. Mega Millions and US Powerball continue to break records for high jackpot figures. Smaller games are feeling the pinch as players leave the low figure prizes behind.

The big-money appeal is attractive for many players. But by how much?

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