Tennessee law generally allows you to make your own decisions. However, there are times that the law must step in if it is determined that you cannot make certain decisions for yourself without putting your health or safety in danger.
Additionally, if you have minor children, the law must step in and appoint someone to take care of them if something happens to you. These situations are where guardianship or conservatorship might be necessary.
Guardianships and conservatorships in Tennessee have essentially the same purpose with one crucial difference: guardianships are for minors age 17 or younger and conservatorships are for adults 18 and older.
Guardianships
Parents are legal guardians of their children, which means they have the right to make major decisions on certain aspects of their children’s lives. Examples of these decisions include medical, educational and religious decisions.
If parents pass away or become unable to make major decisions for their children, a court will appoint an individual to be a guardian. Parents can also name an individual they would like to serve as a guardian in their will.
It is best to choose a guardian for your children and include this as a provision in your will. Courts are likely to respect your wishes and appoint that person as your children’s guardian. Otherwise, you are at the mercy of the court to choose someone to have legal power over your children.
Conservatorships
A conservatorship involves a court appointing someone to make medical and/or financial decisions on behalf of an adult. The person who is appointed to make the decisions is called the conservator and the person who the decisions are made for is called the ward.
The ward must be declared disabled by a court before a conservator can be appointed. The court can appoint anyone as a conservator but typically selects people in a certain order.
If a conservator was appointed through power of attorney or otherwise chosen by the ward, that person usually has priority. If there is no conservator appointed, a court will consider the ward’s spouse, adult child or closest relative.
Least restrictive alternatives
When deciding what decisions that the conservator can make on behalf of the ward, a court usually considers the least restrictive alternatives. The goal is to remove only rights from the ward that are necessary.
For example, a ward may be able to perform daily tasks such as cleaning, bathing and feeding themselves, but unable to handle their own financial transactions, get themselves to medical appointments or understand instructions from their doctor.
A court might allow the conservator to make medical or financial decisions for the ward but allow the ward to make their own decisions about daily activities, such as when to eat and take a shower.
A conservator has various duties and must give regular reports to the court. They must account for how the ward’s money or property is being used and show that they are acting in the best interests of the ward. A conservator can be removed by a court for neglecting the ward, mismanagement of the ward’s money or property or failing to follow a court’s orders.