Juvenile law governs the treatment of under-age who committed crimes. Under the law, a juvenile delinquent is someone under 18 years old who committed a crime or who violated rules. Juvenile delinquent is used interchangeably with youth offenders or delinquent minors. Juvenile minors, as they are often also called, have their own courts and are not treated the same way as adult criminal offenders due to the fact that minors need more guidance and care from the state.

Application of juvenile law vary on a state to state basis. The main precept is that the state is obligated to provide care and protection for the children within the state under the doctrine of parens patriae. Most, but not all, states have a juvenile code that brings together all rules and regulations governing the treatment, custody, and supervision of minor offenders. The federal government enacted the Juvenile Delinquency Prevention and Control Act of 1968 to address the increasing incidences of minors committing crimes and the negative effects on minors when placed in mainstream correctional facilities. The federal legislation provides guidelines that should be complied with by the states in their application of their own sets of juvenile laws.

To be considered a juvenile delinquent also varies from state to state. State juvenile codes differ in their definitions of what are considered juvenile delinquent acts. In some states, mere disobedience from parents is considered a juvenile delinquent act. In other states, school truancy and curfew violations are considered juvenile delinquent acts. In all cases, drinking alcohol is a juvenile delinquent act.

Due to the age and, often times, the level of maturity of, the minor offender, cases dealing with juvenile delinquents are delicate and sensitive. Hearings on juvenile delinquency cases are done in a confidential manner in order to protect the child. Courts also do not conduct the hearings like a typical criminal trial where the accused is subjected to thorough examination and cross examination. In juvenile delinquency cases, child specialists such as psychiatrists and counselors are employed to help adjudicate the cases with the goal of rehabilitation, rather than punishment. Juvenile delinquents are afforded the same, if not, more rights than adults who are accused of committing crimes. For most juvenile delinquent acts, the penalty would be paying a fine, community service or counseling.

The minor can also be sent to home confinement, to a foster group or to a special juvenile detention centers. Minors are provided separate facilities and are aided with social workers and probation officers whose goal is to help the juvenile avoid a life of crime. In rare juvenile delinquency cases, such as when the minor commits murder, the accused is sent to adult prisons, although they are still given separate facilities by virtue of their age. States have not agreed as to a uniform age when minors should be held responsible for their criminal behavior.

Being charged with delinquent acts is not easy especially for minors who, most often, do not know an inch of the law. They are vulnerable to abuses of the legal system if not represented by expert juvenile law attorneys.

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.