Tennessee Code Annotated
Tenn. Code Ann. § 34-3-108 (2026)
Discharge of conservator - Modification of duties - Termination - Final accountings and distribution of assets
✓ current as of May 2026
- (a) A conservator appointed under this chapter may be discharged or have its duties modified if the court determines that the respondent is no longer a person with a disability, or that it is in the best interests of the person with a disability that the conservatorship be terminated, or that the conservator has failed to perform its duties and obligations in accordance with the law, or that the conservator has failed to act in the best interest of the person with a disability so as to warrant modification or termination. The person with a disability or any interested person on the behalf of the person with a disability may petition the court at any time for a termination or modification order under this section.
- (b) A petition under subsection (a), if made by the person with a disability, may be communicated to the court by any means including oral communication or informal letter.
- (c) The court, upon receipt of the petition filed under this section, shall conduct a hearing. At the hearing, the person with a disability has all the rights set out in § 34-3-106. Prior to the holding of the hearing, the court may require that the person with a disability submit to an examination as required by § 34-3-105 to support the person with a disability's contention that a conservator is no longer needed.
- (d) Upon conclusion of the hearing, the court shall enter an order setting forth the court's findings of fact and may do any of the following:
- (1) Dismiss the petition;
- (2) Remove the conservator and dissolve the original order;
- (3) Remove the conservator and appoint a successor;
- (4) Modify the original order; or
- (5) Grant any other relief the court considers appropriate and in the best interest of the person with a disability.
- (e) When the person with a disability dies or the court earlier determines a conservator is no longer needed and issues an order terminating the conservatorship, the conservatorship shall terminate. If the conservator has responsibility for the property of the person with a disability, within one hundred twenty (120) days after the date the conservatorship terminates, the conservator shall file a preliminary final accounting with the court, which shall account for all assets, receipts, and disbursements from the date of the last accounting until the date the conservatorship terminates, and shall detail the amount of the final distribution to close the conservatorship. If no objections have been filed to the clerk's report on the preliminary final accounting within thirty (30) days from the date the clerk's report is filed, the conservator shall distribute the remaining assets. The receipts and final cancelled checks evidencing the final distributions shall be filed with the court by the conservator. When the evidence of the final distribution is filed with the court and on order of the court, the conservatorship proceeding shall be closed.
- (f) Any person listed in § 34-3-103(1)-(4) may petition the court to require the conservator to grant any of the rights provided in § 34-3-107(a)(2)(P). The prevailing party in a petition under this subsection (f) shall be entitled to court costs and reasonable attorney fees.
Amended by 2016 Tenn. Acts, ch. 1062,s 3, eff. 5/16/2016.
Amended by 2013 Tenn. Acts, ch. 435,s 31, eff. 7/1/2013.
Acts 1992, ch. 794, § 48; 1994, ch. 855, § 15; 1996, ch. 880, § 1; T.C.A. § 34-13-108.
Notes of Decisions
Cited in 17
cases (3 in the last 5 years), 2001–2025 · leading case: AmSouth Bank v. Cunningham, 253 S.W.3d 636 (Tenn. Ct. App. 2006).
AmSouth Bank v. Cunningham, 253 S.W.3d 636 (Tenn. Ct. App. 2006). “§ 34-3-108(c), nor does it preclude the court from acting sua sponte or upon an ex parte hearing if the court deems immediate action is in the best interests of the ward.”
In Re Est. of Miriam L. Rinehart, 363 S.W.3d 186 (Tenn. Ct. App. 2011). “Tenn.Code Ann. § 34-3-108. There is no evidence in the record that anyone ever sought to modify the order granting the conservator-ship or that Ms.”
In Re Conservatorship of Mary Ann Tapp (Tenn. Ct. App. 2021). “Tenn. Code Ann. § 34-3-108 (a). -8- pay the attorney’s fees of the appellees, John E.”
In Re: Martha Blanks Maxwell (Tenn. Ct. App. 2003). “” In contrast, Tenn. Code Ann. § 34-3-108 (a), which deals with the discharge of a conservator, is silent as to the standard of proof required for such proceed ings.”
In Re: Conservatorship of John Daniel Tate (Tenn. Ct. App. 2011). “Tenn. Code Ann. § 34-3-108 (e). Upon the entry of the order terminating the conservatorship, the conservator has one hundred twenty days to file a preliminary final accounting with the court, “which shall account for all assets, receipts and disbursements from the date of the…”
The Conservatorship of Annette H. Cross (Tenn. Ct. App. 2009). “Tenn. Code Ann. § 34-3-108 (a). Because a conservator is in a sense the agent through whom the probate court manages the affairs of a ward, the right to choose its representatives is important to the tribunal.”
In Re: The Conservatorship Of Mary Ruth Davis Hudson, 578 S.W.3d 896 (2018). “” Tenn. Code Ann. § 34-3-108 (e) (Supp. 2017); see In re Blessing, No.”
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). “The Trial Court considered the provisions of Tenn. Code Ann. § 34-3-108 , and found that all funds entrusted to McClure had been properly invested and managed, that any allegations regarding McClure’s wife and her disbarment were of no concern because she had never been involved…”
In Re: Conservatorship of Jack Wayne Turner (Tenn. Ct. App. 2014). “25, 2003), where this Court held that the applicable standard of review for termination of a conservatorship is a preponderance of the evidence: Tenn. Code Ann. § 34-3-108 (a), which deals with the discharge of a conservator, is silent as to the standard of proof required for…”
In Re Conservatorship of Betty A. Winston (Tenn. Ct. App. 2020). “11 Such a change in circumstances, if proven, could possibly warrant modification of the conservatorship under Tennessee Code Annotated section 34-3-108 (allowing modification if, inter alia, “the conservator has failed to act in the best interest of the person with a disability…”
In Re Conservatorship of Robert E. Hathaway (Tenn. Ct. App. 2023). “]”9 The entirety of Attorney Parks’s argument on this issue is simply a citation to Tennessee Code Annotated section 34-3-108(e), which Attorney Parks asserts “generally governs the accounts and settlement of executors and administrators and fiduciaries of estates and provides…”
In Re James Preston Hess, IV (Tenn. Ct. App. 2012). “Father retains the ability, in accordance with Tenn. Code Ann. § 34-3-108 (a), to petition the court to terminate the conservatorship in the future.”
— Tenn. Code Ann. § 34-3-108(a) — 3 cases
In Re Conservatorship of Mary Ann Tapp (Tenn. Ct. App. 2021). “Tenn. Code Ann. § 34-3-108 (a). -8- pay the attorney’s fees of the appellees, John E.”
In Re: Conservatorship of John Daniel Tate (Tenn. Ct. App. 2011). “Tenn. Code Ann. § 34-3-108 (e). Upon the entry of the order terminating the conservatorship, the conservator has one hundred twenty days to file a preliminary final accounting with the court, “which shall account for all assets, receipts and disbursements from the date of the…”
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). “The Trial Court considered the provisions of Tenn. Code Ann. § 34-3-108 , and found that all funds entrusted to McClure had been properly invested and managed, that any allegations regarding McClure’s wife and her disbarment were of no concern because she had never been involved…”
— Tenn. Code Ann. § 34-3-108(b) — 1 case
AmSouth Bank v. Cunningham, 253 S.W.3d 636 (Tenn. Ct. App. 2006). “§ 34-3-108(c), nor does it preclude the court from acting sua sponte or upon an ex parte hearing if the court deems immediate action is in the best interests of the ward.”
— Tenn. Code Ann. § 34-3-108(c) — 2 cases
AmSouth Bank v. Cunningham, 253 S.W.3d 636 (Tenn. Ct. App. 2006). “§ 34-3-108(c), nor does it preclude the court from acting sua sponte or upon an ex parte hearing if the court deems immediate action is in the best interests of the ward.”
The Conservatorship of Annette H. Cross (Tenn. Ct. App. 2009). “Tenn. Code Ann. § 34-3-108 (a). Because a conservator is in a sense the agent through whom the probate court manages the affairs of a ward, the right to choose its representatives is important to the tribunal.”
— Tenn. Code Ann. § 34-3-108(d) — 1 case
In Re: Conservatorship of John Daniel Tate (Tenn. Ct. App. 2011). “Tenn. Code Ann. § 34-3-108 (e). Upon the entry of the order terminating the conservatorship, the conservator has one hundred twenty days to file a preliminary final accounting with the court, “which shall account for all assets, receipts and disbursements from the date of the…”
— Tenn. Code Ann. § 34-3-108(e) — 2 cases
In Re Conservatorship of Robert E. Hathaway (Tenn. Ct. App. 2023). “]”9 The entirety of Attorney Parks’s argument on this issue is simply a citation to Tennessee Code Annotated section 34-3-108(e), which Attorney Parks asserts “generally governs the accounts and settlement of executors and administrators and fiduciaries of estates and provides…”
In Re: Conservatorship of John Daniel Tate (Tenn. Ct. App. 2011). “Tenn. Code Ann. § 34-3-108 (e). Upon the entry of the order terminating the conservatorship, the conservator has one hundred twenty days to file a preliminary final accounting with the court, “which shall account for all assets, receipts and disbursements from the date of the…”
— Tenn. Code Ann. § 34-3-108(f) — 1 case
In Re Conservatorship of Mary Ann Tapp (Tenn. Ct. App. 2021). “Tenn. Code Ann. § 34-3-108 (a). -8- pay the attorney’s fees of the appellees, John E.”
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