Tenn. Code Ann. § 20-1-104

This is the official text of Tenn. Code Ann. § 20-1-104, part of Tennessee’s Code Ann — part of the compiled statutory law of Tennessee, published by the state as "Code Ann." Browse the sections below, each linked to its official government source.

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Deserted wife as party

Official statutory text

Where a husband has deserted his family, the wife may prosecute or defend, in the husband's name, any action that the husband might have prosecuted or defended. The wife may also sue and be sued in her own name for any cause of action accruing subsequently to such desertion. Code 1858, § 2805; Shan., § 4505; Code 1932, § 8632; T.C.A. (orig. ed.), § 20-104.
Where a husband has deserted his family, the wife may prosecute or defend, in the husband's name, any action that the husband might have prosecuted or defended. The wife may also sue and be sued in her own name for any cause of action accruing subsequently to such desertion.
Code 1858, § 2805; Shan., § 4505; Code 1932, § 8632; T.C.A. (orig. ed.), § 20-104.

Status: in_force

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About this page: Statute text is reproduced from official government publishers via the Open US Law dataset (Vaquill AI, snapshot v2026.08, CC BY 4.0). Primary legislative text like this is public domain under the government-edicts doctrine (Georgia v. Public.Resource.Org, 2020). We link every section back to its official source so you can verify it independently.