(a) The general assembly recognizes that many elderly persons in the state are unable to meet essential requirements for their physical health or to manage essential aspects of their financial resources. The general assembly finds that private conservatorship is inadequate where there are no willing and responsible family members or friends to serve as conservator and where the disabled person does not have adequate resources for the compensation of a private conservator, or to pay legal and court costs. The general assembly intends through this chapter to establish a statewide public conservatorship program to aid disabled persons who are sixty (60) years of age or older who have no family member or friend who is willing and able to serve as conservator.
Terms Used In Tennessee Code 34-7-102
Conservatorship: is a proceeding in which a court removes the decision-making powers and duties, in whole or in part, in a least restrictive manner, from a person with a disability who lacks capacity to make decisions in one or more important areas and places responsibility for one or more of those decisions in a conservator or co-conservators. See Tennessee Code 34-1-101
Court: means any court having jurisdiction to hear matters concerning guardians or conservators. See Tennessee Code 34-1-101
Guardian: A person legally empowered and charged with the duty of taking care of and managing the property of another person who because of age, intellect, or health, is incapable of managing his (her) own affairs.
Person: means any individual, nonhuman entity or governmental agency. See Tennessee Code 34-1-101
State: when applied to the different parts of the United States, includes the District of Columbia and the several territories of the United States. See Tennessee Code 1-3-105
(b) The general assembly intends to promote the general welfare by establishing a public guardianship system that permits the disabled elderly to determinatively participate as fully as possible in all decisions that affect them, that assists such persons to regain or develop their capacities to the maximum extent possible, and that accomplishes such objectives through the use of the least intrusive alternatives. This chapter shall be liberally construed to accomplish these purposes. It is the intent of the general assembly that nothing contained in this chapter will affect the powers of the court under chapters 1, 2 and 3 of this title, nor create additional powers not contained in chapters 1, 2 and 3 of this title. The district public guardian shall not serve in more than one (1) capacity in any one (1) proceeding under chapters 1, 2 and 3 of this title.
