In 2010, the Brown-Kaufman amendment to Dodd-Frank, which would have imposed asset and liability limits on banks, was decisively defeated by a 61-33 vote in the Senate.

FORBES: Who's For Too Big To Fail Reform Now?

Note that while a limited partnership or a limited liability company theoretically limits personal liability for those who form it, there's less protection if you perform day-to-day operations or make decisions for the business.

FORBES: Self-Employment

One important note: As with increasing your automobile liability insurance limits, an asset protection plan will only work if you establish it before your car accident.

FORBES: Can a Trust Protect My Assets in Divorce?

Carry the highest auto liability insurance limits you can afford.

FORBES: Can a Trust Protect My Assets in Divorce?

There are no limits on liability exposure for passengers and crew, but the industry will receive protection from claims filed by those killed and injured on the ground in New York and Virginia.

CNN: Sources: Bush, House agree on airline bailout

America's proverbially litigious culture makes all players in the public arena, be they government agencies, companies or schools, intensely keen to delimit their responsibilities, and within those limits to minimise the risk of liability.

ECONOMIST: America, Europe and the management of danger: A hazardous comparison | The

In early December, an individual investor in Facebook shared with me the talk among in-the-know investors: that the limited liability companies being created to buy shares of Facebook stock on the secondary market were somehow exploiting an SEC loophole that limits the number of shareholders in private companies to 499.

FORBES: The SEC, Facebook And Trading Shares On The Secondary Market