Legal Question in Real Estate Law in Tennessee

If you gift the property to your children, then they likely will have to pay the Tennessee gift tax, based upon the property's value. If you don't give them the property while you are alive, but instead leave the property to your children in your last will and testament, assuming that the value of property is beneath the tax-free estate amount (currently $1 million in Tennessee), then they will receive the property tax-free at your death.

If you die without a will and still own the property at your death, and have no spouse, then your children will share equally in everything you own at that time - including this property. If you die without a will and have a spouse, then your spouse get's a child share or 1/3rd of your estate (whichever is greater), and your children share the rest in equal parts.

You can give the land to your children now via a quitclaim deed, granting them each a 1/2 undivided interest. Technically a one-half share in the land would be your son's property, and his spouse would have no claim to it - but there are some ways under Tennessee law that a spouse can make a claim against separate property in the event of divorce. I don't practice in the area of divorce law, so am not qualified to give that advice. You may want to post a second question under that area of the law (and not Real Estate and Real Property).

Disregarding a divorce situation, your son's wife would own half of your son's interest only if he gave that to her. He would have to transfer a share of his ownership by deed in order to give her a legal ownership interest. However, at his death his wife may be entitled to at least a part of your son's share in the property.

Your son's inlaws would not have legal right to the property unless your son gave them a legal right to it, or if his interest passed to them through intestate succession or by will. For example, at your son's death his interest would pass to his wife (or his wife and his children) if he has no will (if he dies intestate). If he creates a will and leaves everything he owns to his wife, then she would inherit his interest in this property. His wife could then give her parents a legal interest, or she could leave them this interest in her will.