While this isn't Tennessee and it's not clear whether land is involved -- I have an interesting VA case where legal steps were taken to ensure "ownership" of assets (unnamed) by the wife after her marriage. I have a "pre-nuptial" indenture in the early 1830s (buried somewhere at the moment) in Amelia Co VA between my gg grandfather (Archibald Bolling "AB" Baugh) and the man (Samuel Whipple) who was about to marry AB's sister-in-law (Mariah Goode Wash/Walsh). Mariah had apparently inherited part of the estate of her brother Samuel H. (probably Hyde) Wash/Walsh. (I have looked through the Amelia Co will books microfilm, though not the court records, 1810-1850 and not found a will for Samuel H. Wash/Walsh) The indenture seems to say that Mariah will maintain "primary" control over the inheritance after she marries Samuel Whipple, with AB having some sort of "secondary" control, and if Samuel messes with any of it he is answerable to and can be sued by AB. I use the terms primary and secondary not to bait Paul, but as a shorthand because at the beginning the indenture seems to say that AB will have control, but then there is more extensive tortuous legal language that suggests that Mariah is really the decisionmaker..in the humble opinion of a group of us four cousins who find it interesting. I am assuming that AB got involved because Mariah could not have asserted her rights all by herself, thus the indenture between AB Baugh and Samuel Whipple was necessary??? Comments anyone?? Is this an unusual case? I honestly doubt there was much money involved, unless Samuel Wash/Walsh did particularly well for himself. Both couples moved shortly thereafter to Lawrence Co MO, where Samuel Whipple died sometime before 1840. Best Regards, Janet (Baugh) Hunter