Individuals and businesses typically seek recourse from the law to protect their properties from the reach of creditors or, in cases of divorce, former spouses. Property protection law provides for a legal mechanism by which properties are protected so that they remain in the hands of the asset-holder, instead of creditors, without violating other aspects of the law. In the area of debtor-creditor law, asset protection serves the debtors as debt collection serves as the creditors.

Property protection law identifies exempt assets, which cannot be clawed by creditors. These assets include household furniture, clothing, or jewelry. These assets could also include, in some states, life insurance benefits, and annuities. Federal legislation also identifies as exempt qualified retirements plans, including pension plans, 401(k) plans, and employee stock ownership plans. State laws on exempt assets varies, but the general rules is assets to which one does not have legal title cannot be reached by creditors.

There are numerous ways to protect assets and one way is to transfer assets to another person or another entity. The law allows individuals to transfer their properties to another person, to a trust, to a limited liability corporation, or to a family limited partnership. The transfer of properties to any of these entities require legal documentation, which is best drafted by an expert property protection law attorney. There are also legal requirements as to the creation of trusts, LLCs and FLPs, so prior to any transfer, it should be ensured that these entities were created in accordance with the law, or else, the transfer may be deemed fraudulent and invalid, giving creditors the right to grab these properties.

The process of protecting one's property should not be utilized as a result of a current situation, such as insolvency or divorce. Asset protection should be planned as a crucial part of one's life and prior to the occurrence of any of these situations as the law also protects creditors from fraudulent acts of debtors. The process of property protection involves the drafting of numerous legal documents, depending on the number of properties and assets. The drafting of these legal documents must be carried out with the assistance of expert attorneys as the language of these documents should be clear and specific, such that they won't be subjected to burdensome disputes in the future. Moreover, because law on property protection varies, there are requirements that must be complied with and property protection law attorneys would know best what to do.

Property protection law touches upon numerous other branches of the law. In instances of insolvency, individuals and corporations should be careful when trying to transfer their assets prior to filing for bankruptcy. The Bankruptcy Code provides for a time period by which preferential or fraudulent transfers can be clawed back to the estates for distribution to creditors. It is not uncommon for debtors to, prior to the filing for bankruptcy, conceal assets so that they cannot be sequestered by creditors. This is not illegal if done before the claw back period, which is usually one year prior to the filing date to 90 days prior to the filing date. It is also not uncommon for property owners to hide assets to try to pay lower taxes. Tax evasion is a criminal offense and may result to serious repercussions, such as imprisonment.

Shareholders' rights law is a part of the all-encompassing business law and securities law. The Securities and Exchange Act of 1934 requires public companies, or companies with stocks trading in exchange houses, to register and disclose financial and any major events that shareholders should know about. Since 1934, numerous legislation, such as the Shareholder Bill of Rights Act of 2009, have been enacted in order to protect and provide more rights to shareholders and address events that have affected shareholders through the years. Shareholders' rights law is derived mainly from the Securities and Exchange Act, subsequent federal legislation, state laws, and court decisions. In addition to laws and agencies created by law to protect shareholders' rights, there are also numerous private organizations, both at state and international levels, which serve as additional watchdogs for shareholders' rights.

Under the law, shareholders are protected by virtue of their being owners of stocks in a corporation. The law provides for priority in the hierarchy of securities issued by the company. Bondholders have the highest priority, followed by preferred stockholders, with common stockholders having the least priority. Each class of securities have accompanying rights and privileges. Bondholders are guaranteed payment but they do not have the same level of control over the corporation as the common stockholders, which have voting rights. Preferred stockholders receive dividends prior to common stockholders, but common stockholders stand to earn a substantial return of investment when the corporation is performing well.

Common stockholders, under the law, are given more rights over the day-to-day management of the corporation, compared to the other classes of securities. Common stockholders are part owners of the company, which means they have a say and a stake in the corporation. Common stockholders can vote on major issues affecting the company, such as mergers and acquisitions, compensation and incentives to executives and directors, and bankruptcy and liquidation. In addition, common stockholders can elect a person or several persons as members of the company's board of directors and present proposals relating to environmental, governance, and social issues. The right of common stockholders to probe into the corporation's books and records is a fundamental, but not absolute, right.

Common stockholders can also file so-called derivative actions to pursue the company for any act that is in violation of the Securities and Exchange Act. One of the common issues arising from shareholders' rights law, would be a corporation's failure to publicly disclose on financial reports and major company events, or the corporation's misrepresentation of these information. Corporations are required by law to disclose the truthful standing of the company in order for shareholders to make informed decisions as to subsequent actions, such as pulling out of stocks. There are numerous instances of companies misrepresenting their finances in disclosures with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, causing shareholders to file shareholders' suits. Stocks are volatile and its prices are easily affected by any movement of the company, which means stockholders are always on the lookout for major events in the company in order to minimize losses with respect to their investment. Shareholders rights' law attorneys are knowledgeable of both the rights of shareholders and how to protect these rights and in litigating against corporations when these rights have been trampled upon.