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The mystery Powerball winner is taking his or her sweet time to claim the jaw-dropping $590 million jackpot. It may be a wise move -- or it may be a gamble, as a some important deadlines are fast approaching.

It's been two weeks since lotto officials announced the winning ticket was purchased in Zephyrhills, Florida, reports the Associated Press. Apparently, no one expected a winner to come forward immediately. But now some are raising their eyebrows.

The delay could be dicey, because there is a legal time limit on how long you can wait to claim a lottery prize.

Credit report mistakes are more common than you may think. So if you've run into problems with your credit report, know that you're not alone.

In fact, according to a new FindLaw.com survey, nearly a quarter of Americans -- 23% -- say they have experienced problems with their credit report.

Here are the five most common credit report mistakes, according to the FindLaw.com survey:

Planning to win the Powerball jackpot? If you've already picked out your lucky numbers, you should also cross your fingers in hopes that you don't squander the winnings. Lottery winners are notorious for losing it all, as Business Insider reminds us.

Since you're obviously going to win the $600 million prize, here are five tips to make your jackpot last:

Have you checked your credit report lately? A new FindLaw survey shows that a whopping 22% of Americans have never checked their credit report.

The survey found that between the genders, women are more likely to check their credit score than men, and those in the higher income brackets are more likely to check as well.

That's despite the fact that the process for checking your credit report is pretty straightforward -- and best of all, it's free. Here are a few simple steps to follow:

When you first graduated from school, the last thing you probably thought about was giving what little money you had back to your school. But now that you are doing better in life, you may be considering donating to your alma mater.

Giving back may seem like a win-win for you and your school, since your charitable donation (in most cases) is tax deductible. But how can you be sure your money is actually going toward something that you deem worthwhile?

Here are three tips you may want to consider:

On Matlock, The Good Wife, and [insert your favorite legal drama here], the attorneys and their clients put their game faces on, suit up, and get ready to sue or be sued for a saucy legal issue that has arisen. But in reality, not every attorney is an Alicia Florrick, appealing to the judge and jury with grand gestures and a winning smile.

On the contrary, transactional attorneys do the bulk of their work behind the scenes. They pen contracts on a variety of legal issues and stay far, far away from court. In general, a good transactional attorney will almost never see the inside of a courtroom.

Here are 5 things transactional lawyers do -- possibly without you even realizing it:

Loaning money to family and friends can be a delicate subject. You don't want to be too formal with the terms of the loan. Yet, if you don't write a proper loan note or a legally binding IOU, you could be kissing your money goodbye.

It's generally a good idea to protect yourself by putting the terms of the loan in writing. If your friend or relative protests, you could say that there are tax consequences and you'll need the note to keep the IRS off your back.

Here's what you need to know about writing a legally binding IOU or loan note:

You hired a lawyer and were promised one rate. But when you get your legal bill in the mail, it's much more than you expect.

That's what led to a recent case alleging overbilling by DLA Piper, the world's largest law firm. Internal emails disclosed in the case revealed lawyers joking about "churning," or running up, client bills.

While you may feel that it's easier just to pay the higher amount (after all, a lawyer charged you), you should know there are ways to dispute a legal bill -- everything from attorney's fees to miscellaneous costs like making photocopies.

You go for a yearly checkup at your doctor's office, right? It's not because you're sick or something is wrong. But a checkup offers you a chance to discuss things with your doctor, ask questions, and get professional input on your overall health.

So why don't you get a "legal checkup" every year too?

After all, there are benign changes to your legal health every year just like with your physical health. Every time you sign a legal document or encounter significant life changes, it could affect you legally.

So what types of situations may lend themselves to a "legal checkup"? Here are just a few:

If you default on a student loan, what happens? Unfortunately, more Americans are finding out the answer first-hand.

Student loans now have the highest delinquency rate of any consumer loan, higher even than car loans or credit cards, according to Bloomberg Businessweek. Many of those student loan delinquencies -- i.e., missed payments -- will lead to student loan defaults.

Default occurs when a borrower continues to miss payments on a loan. For federal student loans, for example, default is when no payment has been received for 270 days. At that point, a lender like the Department of Education may take steps to collect payment.

There are several ways this can happen. For example: