Glossary
Tennessee legal terms, in plain English
Legal vocabulary is not meant to exclude you, but it often does. These are the terms that come up most in the matters this firm handles, written the way they would be explained in a first meeting.
A
- AlimonyFamily & Juvenile Law
- Financial support one spouse may be ordered to pay the other during or after a divorce, depending on the parties’ circumstances and the statutory factors.
B
- Breach of ContractBusiness & Contracts · Civil Litigation
- A party's failure to perform a contractual obligation without a lawful excuse.
C
- ConsiderationBusiness & Contracts
- The value exchanged between parties that helps make a contract enforceable; it does not necessarily have to be money.
- Contempt of CourtFamily & Juvenile Law · Civil Litigation
- A proceeding to enforce a court order against a party who has failed to comply with it.
D
- Declaratory JudgmentCivil Litigation · Business & Contracts · Real Estate & Landlord-Tenant
- A court ruling that determines the parties’ legal rights or obligations, often used when the dispute concerns what a contract, deed, or other legal instrument means.
- Demand LetterBusiness & Contracts · Civil Litigation · Real Estate & Landlord-Tenant
- A formal written notice setting out a claim and what is required to resolve it, usually sent before proceedings begin.
- Dependency and NeglectFamily & Juvenile Law
- A juvenile court case alleging that a child is not receiving proper care, often brought after a report to the Department of Children's Services.
- DepositionCivil Litigation · Family & Juvenile Law · Business & Contracts · Real Estate & Landlord-Tenant
- Sworn testimony given before trial, usually in response to questions from the attorneys, and recorded for later use in the case.
- Detainer WarrantReal Estate & Landlord-Tenant
- The court filing used to seek possession of property from an occupant, commonly called an eviction.
- DiscoveryCivil Litigation · Family & Juvenile Law · Business & Contracts · Real Estate & Landlord-Tenant
- The stage of a lawsuit where the parties exchange documents, answer written questions, and take depositions.
E
- EasementReal Estate & Landlord-Tenant
- A right to use part of someone else's land for a specific purpose, such as access, drainage, or utilities.
I
- InjunctionCivil Litigation · Real Estate & Landlord-Tenant
- A court order requiring someone to do, or stop doing, something, rather than simply awarding money damages.
L
- LienReal Estate & Landlord-Tenant · Business & Contracts · Civil Litigation
- A legal claim against property that may secure payment of a debt or obligation.
- Liquidated DamagesBusiness & Contracts
- A sum fixed in the contract itself as the remedy for a specified breach.
M
- Marital Dissolution AgreementFamily & Juvenile Law
- The written contract between spouses resolving property, debts, and support, which the court approves and incorporates into the divorce decree.
- Marital PropertyFamily & Juvenile Law
- Property acquired during the marriage that may be subject to equitable division in a divorce.
- Material BreachBusiness & Contracts · Civil Litigation
- A failure to perform that goes to the essence of an agreement, potentially allowing the other party to terminate.
- Material Change in CircumstancesFamily & Juvenile Law
- The legal threshold generally required before a Tennessee court will consider modifying an existing custody or parenting arrangement.
- MediationFamily & Juvenile Law · Civil Litigation · Business & Contracts · Real Estate & Landlord-Tenant
- A confidential settlement process before a neutral third party that may be voluntary or court-ordered and is common before trial.
O
- Order of ProtectionFamily & Juvenile Law
- A court order restricting contact by someone who has committed domestic abuse, stalking, or sexual assault, available on an emergency basis.
P
- ParentageFamily & Juvenile Law
- The legal establishment of a child's father, which must usually happen before a court will address custody or support between unmarried parents.
- Parental RelocationFamily & Juvenile Law
- The statutory process that may apply after a parenting arrangement has been established when a parent plans to move outside Tennessee or more than 50 miles from the other parent.
- Parenting TimeFamily & Juvenile Law
- The time a child spends in each parent’s care under a parenting plan. The number of parenting days can affect the child support calculation.
- Permanent Parenting PlanFamily & Juvenile Law
- The written, court-approved document that sets out where a child lives, who makes decisions, and how support is paid after a Tennessee divorce or custody case.
Q
- Quiet Title ActionReal Estate & Landlord-Tenant · Civil Litigation
- A lawsuit asking a court to declare who owns a piece of property and to resolve competing claims against it.
S
- Security DepositReal Estate & Landlord-Tenant
- Money held by a landlord against damage or unpaid rent, subject to specific Tennessee rules on handling and return.
- Separate PropertyFamily & Juvenile Law
- Property that generally belongs to one spouse individually and is not divided as marital property, though classification can depend on how the property was acquired, titled, or used.
- Specific PerformanceBusiness & Contracts · Real Estate & Landlord-Tenant · Civil Litigation
- A court order requiring a party to carry out the contract rather than pay damages for failing to do so.
- Statute of LimitationsCivil Litigation · Business & Contracts · Real Estate & Landlord-Tenant
- The deadline for filing a lawsuit, after which a claim is generally barred no matter how strong it is.
- Summary JudgmentCivil Litigation · Business & Contracts · Real Estate & Landlord-Tenant
- A ruling before trial on a claim or defense when there is no genuine dispute of material fact and the moving party is entitled to judgment as a matter of law.
T
- Tennessee Child Support GuidelinesFamily & Juvenile Law
- The state rules used to calculate child support based primarily on both parents’ incomes, parenting time, and applicable adjustments and credits.
U
- Uniform Residential Landlord and Tenant ActReal Estate & Landlord-Tenant
- The Tennessee statute governing residential leases, which applies only in certain Tennessee counties.
W
- Writ of PossessionReal Estate & Landlord-Tenant
- The order that authorizes law enforcement to restore possession of the property after a successful detainer action.
These definitions are general information about Tennessee law, not legal advice, and they are deliberately simplified. How a term applies depends on the facts of your matter. Practice areas: Family & Juvenile Law · Business & Contracts · Civil Litigation · Real Estate & Landlord-Tenant.
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