Here in our country, if you hit the jackpot, you are given one year to claim your rewards. There is also a security feature on the back of the lotto ticket where you can write your name and sign it, so you are the only person who can claim the jackpot prize, and you have a year to claim it.
I read that some lottery winners take weeks or even months to claim their rewards, but what's the point?
What if you keep it and will surprise your family after a month, but you have an accident and you get into a coma?
Or you let it know to your family, but you decide that you will claim it after a month but some members of the family spread the news will this put your family and yourself in jeopardy
Do you think it's a good idea to claim your winnings a day after hitting the jackpot or wait a few weeks?
How about you? When do you think is the right time to claim your winnings?
Actually, believe it or not, I find it to be a very good idea to give people time before they can show up with their winning ticket and retrieve their money. Keep in mind that winning a life changing amount of money provoke people to act recklessly and make then to waste much of the money they won in unnecessary stuff, it is something which is common to happen to the so calle "new rich" in west countries. So giving those months for the person to appear and claim the money makes them to approach their new economical status with a colder head and better expectations on what to do with it.
For example, if someone won the lottery and claimed the money in the next day, they could feel tempted to buy a ferrari, go for alcohol, gambling, spend money in women and joining social clubs to hang out with other with other rich people, that is a patch which could easily take the person back to the starting line he came from (economically speaking). On the other hand, having up to a year to receive the money, he may meditated about what he wants and would end up going to college in first world country, starting his own business of importation, etc.
If you look on the internet about stories of the new rich getting back to poverty quickly, you will see what I mean.
Cheers.