Tennessee Code Annotated
Tenn. Code Ann. § 34-1-113 (2026)
Payments by fiduciary
✓ current as of May 2026
- (a) The fiduciary is entitled to pay from the property of the minor or person with a disability the costs of any required medical examination, the guardian ad litem fee, bond premium, court costs, attorney fees, fees for income tax preparation and court accountings, investment management fees, taxes or governmental charges for which the minor or person with a disability is obligated and such other expenses as the court determines are necessary for the fiduciary. The fiduciary shall not pay any attorney fee, guardian ad litem fee, fees for income tax preparation and court accountings or investment management fees until the amount of those fees is approved by the court.
- (b) Either prior to or after payment, the court may approve payments by the fiduciary from the property of the minor or person with a disability that are reasonable considering all relevant factors, are incurred by the fiduciary in good faith on behalf of the minor or person with a disability, and are intended to benefit or protect the minor or person with a disability or such person's property, whether or not an actual benefit or protection is ultimately in fact attained. Such requests and/or payments shall be reviewed by the court pursuant to fiduciary standards.
- (c) All other expenses, including those that do not comply with the requirements of subsection (b), may be approved by the court, either prior to or after payment, upon a determination that they are reasonable and:
- (1) They protected or benefited the minor or person with a disability or such person's property; or
- (2) That their payment is in the best interest of the minor or person with a disability.
- (d) For purposes of subsection (a), attorney fees shall include fees for preparing fiduciary fee applications and other related filings that are required to be submitted to the court including petitions to secure approval or reimbursement for any expenses paid by the fiduciary that meet the requirements of this section, provided that the amount of those fees is determined by the court to be reasonable in view of the services rendered.
- (e) Notwithstanding any law to the contrary, the duty of the fiduciary appointed under this title shall not cease at the death of the person with a disability, but shall continue for the sole purpose of making reasonable and proper funeral arrangements for the disposition of the remains of the person with a disability, at death. Upon the death of the person with a disability, the fiduciary shall be allowed credits in the accounting for all reasonable expenses of the person with a disability's funeral. If the estate of the person with a disability has assets in an amount less than five thousand dollars ($5,000), the fiduciary may utilize this entire amount for payment of funeral expenses and will be given credit for the same in the final accounting.
Amended by 2013 Tenn. Acts, ch. 435, s 35, eff. 7/1/2013.
Acts 1992, ch. 794, § 14; 1994, ch. 855, §6; 1997 , ch. 319, § 1; T.C.A. § 34-11-113.
Notes of Decisions
Cited in 10
cases (2 in the last 5 years), 2004–2026 · leading case: In Re Conservatorship of Betty A. Winston (Tenn. Ct. App. 2026).
In Re Conservatorship of Betty A. Winston (Tenn. Ct. App. 2026). “” Tenn. Code Ann. § 34-1-113 (a). Approval of payments under this section may be requested “[e]ither prior to or after payment” of the charge incurred, so long as the charges are “incurred by the fiduciary in good faith on behalf of the minor or person with a disability, and are…”
In Re: Est. Of Wawana Lynn Brakebill (2020). “Any delay in determining the amount of the obligation was due in part to the trial court’s fulfillment of its duty to review and approve a payment made on behalf of a person under a conservatorship, as set forth in Tenn. Code Ann. § 34-1-113 (a): The fiduciary is entitled to pay…”
In Re: Conservatorship of Maurice M. Acree, Jr. (Tenn. Ct. App. 2014). “Tenn. Code Ann. § 34-1-113 (a)-(c)(2007).”
In Re Conservatorship of Scott D. Melton (Tenn. Ct. App. 2015). “Conservator requests attorney fees in an amount sufficient to reflect her defense of the management of the Ward‟s finances at trial and now on appeal pursuant to Tennessee Code Annotated section 34-1-113. Daughter responds that any issue regarding the award of attorney fees at…”
In Re: Conservatorship of Leah Angelique Thomas - Cathey J. Tillman, Conservator v. Ronald Marvell Thomas (Tenn. Ct. App. 2012). “See Tenn. Code Ann. § 34-1-113 (a) (“The fiduciary is entitled to pay from the property of the minor or disabled person the costs of .”
In re: Nancy Jane Shipe, Daniel P. McClure, (Conservator of Est.) v. Fae N. Shipe, (Conservator of the Person), & Nancy Jane Shipe (Ward) (Tenn. Ct. App. 2004). “Tenn. Code Ann. § 34-1-113 provides that the court may approve payments from the estate that are “reasonable considering all relevant factors, are incurred by the fiduciary in good faith on behalf of the minor or disabled person, and are intended to benefit or protect the minor…”
In Re Conservatorship of Patricia L. Capelli (2025). “Capelli’s estate, pursuant to “the statutory entitlement based on the American Rule and Tenn. Code Ann. §34-1-113 ,” as well as the four discretionary factors found in Smallman v.”
In Re: Conservatorship of Maurice M. Acree, Jr. v. Nancy Acree (Tenn. Ct. App. 2012). “Tenn. Code Ann. §34-1-113 . It appears that the Court’s allowance of attorneys’ fees for Nancy and William were improper under the trust documents, as were any payments for Nancy’s support that invaded the trust principal (although it would be difficult to determine this given…”
In Re: Conservatorship of Gladys R. Burchard, & Pub. Guardian for the Elderly as Conservator for Gladys R. Burchard v. Ralph O. Burchard (Tenn. Ct. App. 2007). “The Court held that in order to allow the payment of such fees, pursuant to Tenn. Code Ann. §34-1-113 , the Court had to find that the representation protected and benefitted Mrs.”
In Re: Conservatorship of Maurice M. Acree, Jr. (Tenn. Ct. App. 2014). “Acree in her role as conservator are payable from the conservatorship assets to the extent provided by Tennessee Code Annotated § 34-1-113. In Acree II, we affirmed the trial court’s July 15, 2013, order awarding attorney’s fees in the amount of $90,000 to Mrs.”
— Tenn. Code Ann. § 34-1-113(a) — 1 case
In Re Conservatorship of Scott D. Melton (Tenn. Ct. App. 2015). “Conservator requests attorney fees in an amount sufficient to reflect her defense of the management of the Ward‟s finances at trial and now on appeal pursuant to Tennessee Code Annotated section 34-1-113. Daughter responds that any issue regarding the award of attorney fees at…”
Annotations are extracted automatically from the opinions in the
Syfert caselaw corpus and ranked by authority, recency, and
treatment. Dots show Syfertize treatment of the citing case itself.