One of the bases of Texas law.
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Example:
Part IV, Title XI, Law vii: Donations and Dowries, Made in Consideration of Marriage, Should Remain Under Control of the Husband, to Be Kept and Taken Care Of. A husband should place his wife in possession of the gift which he makes her, and the wife should do the same thing with her husband with regard to the dowry she gives; and, although each of them places the other in possession of their respective gifts, nevertheless, the husband should be the master and have control of all the property aforesaid, and be entitled to collect the income of the whole, including what the wife gives, as well as that given by him, for the purpose of supporting himself, his wife, and his family, and to preserve, defend, and protect the marriage well and faithfully. Still, the husband has no right to sell, dispose of, or waste the donation which he gave his wife, or the dowry which he receives from her, as long as the marriage lasts, except where such a gift has been appraised. This should be observed for the following reason, namely: in order that if a separation takes place, the property of each of the parties may be returned to them, free and without encumbrance, to dispose of at their pleasure, or, where the marriage is dissolved by death, that it may descend intact to their heirs.
Part IV, Title XI, Law xvii: Concerning Separate Property Belonging to the Wife, Which is Not Given as Dowry, and Which is Called in Latin, Paraphernalia. (return) All property and possessions, whether personal or real, which women keep separately for themselves, and do not enter in the account of a dowry, are called in Greek parapherna, and this derived its name from para, which means, in Greek, the same as near, and pherna which takes the place of dowry, in Greek, the same as things which are joined to, or connected with a dowry. All the articles called, in Greek, parapherna, when they are given by a wife to her husband with the intention that he shall have control of them as long as the marriage lasts, he has the right to keep, just as those which are given him by way of dowry. Where they are not specifically given to the husband, and it was not the intention of the wife that he should have control of them, she always remains their owner; and the same rule applies whenever any doubt arises whether she gave them to her husband or not.
All these things called parapherna, have the same privilege as a dowry has, for just as a husband is responsible to his wife to the full amount of his property, if he disposes of or wastes her dowry, he is also responsible for the parapherna, no matter what may happen to it. And although an obligation of this kind may not be contracted by words, it is understood to be created solely by the act itself. For as soon as the husband receives the dowry and the other property called parapherna, all his property, for this reason, becomes bound to his wife, not only what he has at the time, but also what he may acquire subsequently.
