Healthcare
Medical and mental treatment; end-of-life decisions; hospitalization and discharge; therapies; residential placement.
Tennessee legal framework
A Conservatorship Transfers Only The Powers A Court Enumerates.
Tennessee law distinguishes an emergency appointment from a final incapacity determination and directs courts to impose the least restrictive alternative consistent with adequate protection.
Reading rule
This page uses the publicly accessible 2024 Tennessee Code because the emergency petition and order were filed in February 2025. It is a case-period reference, not legal advice.
For current official text, use Tennessee's free unannotated Code access and verify amendments effective after the case event.
Case-period provisions
The controlling structure
| Authority | What the public 2024 text says | Why it matters here |
|---|---|---|
| T.C.A. § 34-1-127 | The court has an affirmative duty to ascertain and impose the least restrictive alternatives consistent with adequate protection of the person and property. | The petition sought broad person-and-property authority; the emergency order transferred sixteen categories. |
| T.C.A. § 34-1-132(a) | An emergency appointment required findings of likely substantial harm from ordinary procedures and that no other authorized, willing person was acting in the respondent's best interests. Authority could not exceed sixty days and was limited to powers specified in the order. | The order appointed Donald Olea for a maximum of sixty days and specified powers. |
| T.C.A. § 34-1-132(b) | An appointment without notice required a sworn-petition finding of substantial harm before a hearing could be held; notice of appointment was due within forty-eight hours and a hearing within five days. | The order says the proceeding was ex parte. The supplied source set proves a 5:41 p.m. petition email to Phillip and a 4:42 p.m. order email to him, but not notice to every required person. |
| T.C.A. § 34-1-132(c) | Emergency appointment, with or without notice, is not a determination of incapacity. | The order's emergency findings should not be described as a final incapacity adjudication. |
| T.C.A. § 34-3-104 | A sworn petition should contain specified respondent, petitioner, disability, factual, medical-report, rights, and property information. | The petition disclosed that it did not have a physician's report and requested future testing. |
| T.C.A. § 34-3-105 | The statute addressed examination, sworn-report content, evidentiary effect, and confidentiality. | No examination report was attached to the emergency petition supplied for this review. |
| T.C.A. § 34-3-107 | An order must enumerate powers removed and vested. Powers not specifically removed remain with the respondent. | The correct analysis is category by category—not a slogan or an unsupported numerical count. |
| T.C.A. § 34-1-108 | For ordinary conservatorship hearings, the public text addresses hearing timing and notice to the respondent, caregiver or custodian, and closest relatives. | Notice of an emergency appointment is separately addressed by § 34-1-132; ordinary and emergency provisions should not be blended. |
The February 12 order
Authority actually transferred
The order transferred these sixteen categories. This list is condensed; the filed order controls.
Information and benefits
Confidential information and applications for public or private benefits.
Property and money
Disposition of property; purchases; bills; protection and investment of assets; access to bank accounts and benefits.
Legal acts
Contracts, instruments of legal significance, litigation, and documents implementing the transferred authority.
Driving
Whether Virginia could use a Tennessee driver license for driving.
Bodily remains
Decisions and financial arrangements concerning disposition of bodily remains.
Not transferred in the enumerated list: the statutory example category concerning communication, visitation, and interaction with other persons. The order also imposed a separate federal-firearms prohibition.
What law can and cannot answer
Procedure is not proof.
Law supplies standards
Statutes identify required findings, procedures, timing, and the scope a court may grant.
The record supplies facts
Petitions, orders, reports, testimony, communications, and source records show what was alleged, found, transmitted, or documented.
A difference requires analysis
A website can identify a textual difference or missing source. Only a competent tribunal can enter a binding legal conclusion about compliance or remedy.