Tennessee Guardianship Forms for Minors and Adults: Petition and Filing

Tennessee guardianship forms come from the probate clerk in the county where you plan to file, not from a single statewide packet. Before you download anything, confirm you actually need guardianship forms: Tennessee uses “guardian” only for someone appointed to help a minor, and “conservator” for the same role over an adult with a disability. The two proceedings use different forms and different petition requirements, so starting with the wrong set wastes weeks.¹

Guardian or Conservator: Which Forms You Actually Need

A guardian in Tennessee is a person a court appoints to supervise, protect, or assist a minor — someone under 18 who has not been emancipated. A conservator plays the equivalent role for an adult (18 or older) whom the court finds unable to make some or all decisions because of mental illness, physical illness or injury, developmental disability, or another incapacity.¹

The paperwork differs in real ways. Conservatorship petitions require a sworn medical examination report, an explicit list of the decision-making rights being taken from the adult, and registry searches on the proposed conservator.² Minor guardianship petitions have their own venue rules and focus on the child’s parents rather than on medical evidence.³ If the person you want to help is an adult, ask the clerk for the conservatorship packet, not the guardianship packet.

Where to Get the Forms

The Tennessee Administrative Office of the Courts publishes self-help forms for divorce, orders of protection, and several other case types, but it does not publish standardized guardianship or conservatorship petition forms. The forms you need come from your local county clerk.

County probate courts maintain their own packets, including petition templates, accounting forms, and conservatorship-specific documents. Davidson County’s Circuit Court Clerk publishes separate sections for guardianship forms and conservatorship forms on its website along with step-by-step instructions.⁴ Shelby, Knox, and Hamilton Counties keep similar resources either online or at the clerk’s window.

Because there is no statewide packet, contact the clerk in the county where you plan to file before pulling forms from any third-party site. Using outdated or non-compliant forms is one of the fastest ways to have a petition rejected. Legal aid organizations such as the Tennessee Alliance for Legal Services can help you locate forms and provide guidance if you cannot afford an attorney. Some county probate courts also run self-help centers where staff can walk you through the paperwork. None of that replaces a lawyer in a contested case or a case with substantial assets.

What the Petition Must Include

Both petitions must be sworn, but the required contents diverge.

Guardianship of a Minor

Your petition must identify you as the petitioner, identify the child, and identify the child’s parents. Under Tennessee law, parents are the joint natural guardians of their minor children, so the petition has to explain why the parents cannot serve — death, incapacity, or another reason.⁵ If one parent has died or cannot act, guardianship passes automatically to the surviving parent, so you have to show why that arrangement is also insufficient.

Include any existing custody orders and relevant information about the child’s living situation, assets, and financial resources. Venue depends on scope: if you want authority over only the child’s person, you may file in juvenile court; if you want authority over the child’s property (or both person and property), you file in a court exercising probate jurisdiction.³

Conservatorship of an Adult

Conservatorship petitions carry heavier documentation. The sworn petition must include:

The respondent’s name, date of birth, residence, and mailing address.
A description of the alleged disability and a summary of the facts supporting the need for a conservator.
The petitioner’s name, age, address, relationship to the respondent, and disclosure of any felony or misdemeanor convictions.
The same background for the proposed conservator, plus a signed statement from that person acknowledging the petition and willingness to serve if the proposed conservator is not the petitioner.
A search of the Tennessee Department of Health’s abuse registry and the national sex offender registry maintained by the U.S. Department of Justice, run on the proposed conservator.
Names and mailing addresses of the respondent’s spouse, children, parents, and siblings, plus anyone currently providing care.
Either a sworn medical examination report from a physician, psychologist, or senior psychological examiner who examined the respondent within the last 90 days, or a statement that the respondent refused examination together with a request that the court order one.
A list of the specific decision-making rights to be removed from the respondent, which can include the right to manage property, enter contracts, consent to medical treatment, hold a driver license, or vote.²

If you are asking for authority over the respondent’s property, the petition must also include an inventory of assets, income, and financial obligations.² Tennessee requires conservatorships to be crafted in the least restrictive manner possible, so request only the specific powers actually needed rather than blanket authority.

The medical report carries real weight. A sworn report describing the disability and recommending conservatorship serves as presumptive evidence of disability unless someone contests it at the hearing.⁶

Who Can Serve

Tennessee does not publish an exhaustive qualifications list, but the petition reveals the practical bar. The proposed conservator must disclose felony and misdemeanor convictions, and the petitioner must submit searches of both the Tennessee abuse registry and the national sex offender registry.² A criminal record or a registry hit does not automatically disqualify someone, but the court weighs those findings heavily.

If you live outside Tennessee and want to serve as a fiduciary, you must first appoint the Tennessee Secretary of State as your agent for service of process. That means filing form SS-4512 with a $10 filing fee, which lets the Secretary of State receive and forward legal papers connected to the case.⁷ Without that filing, a nonresident cannot legally serve.

Where and How to File

For a minor, you can file in the county where the child lives, the county where the child’s parents live, or, if the parents live apart, the county of the custodial parent.³ Juvenile court handles authority over the child’s person; a court with probate jurisdiction handles authority over the child’s property.

For an adult conservatorship, you file in a court exercising probate jurisdiction in the county where the respondent lives.⁸ If the respondent is incarcerated in a state corrections facility or involuntarily hospitalized in a state mental health facility, the county of residence is the county where that facility sits.

Filing fees vary. In Davidson County, the fee for a guardianship or conservatorship petition is $334.50 as of January 2026.⁹ Other counties charge in a similar range; check with your local clerk. If you cannot afford the fee, submit a Uniform Civil Affidavit of Indigency, which requires a sworn statement of your income, expenses, assets, and debts. A judge either waives the fee or denies the request, and denial gives you the right to a hearing.¹⁰

One practical note before you file: if the minor’s or respondent’s total non-real-estate property is worth $25,000 or less, the court may handle the funds through the clerk without appointing a fiduciary at all.¹¹ For small estates, the paperwork you actually need may be simpler than a full petition.

What Happens After You File

Once the petition is in, several things happen before the hearing.

In most cases, the court appoints a guardian ad litem to investigate. The guardian ad litem is not an advocate for either side. They meet with the respondent, verify that everyone who needed notice actually got it, explain the proceeding to the respondent, and file a report recommending whether a fiduciary should be appointed and whether the proposed person is the right choice. In conservatorship cases, the guardian ad litem also reviews the sworn medical report. The court can waive the appointment when the petitioner is a parent of the minor, when a minor aged 14 or older filed the petition, when the respondent is an adult, or when the court finds a waiver is in the minor’s or respondent’s best interests.¹²

Notice goes out next. In a conservatorship, the guardian ad litem or another authorized person must serve the respondent and anyone with care or custody of the respondent, and notice is mailed to the respondent’s spouse, children, parents, and siblings at their last known addresses. If an address cannot be found after reasonable effort, the court may allow notice by newspaper publication or courthouse posting. The hearing must be scheduled at least seven days and no more than 60 days from either the date of service on the respondent or the date the guardian ad litem was appointed, whichever comes later. Good cause can extend that; life-threatening situations can shorten it.¹³ Proof of service must be filed, and missing even one required party can derail the case.

At the hearing the court decides two things: whether the guardianship or conservatorship is necessary, and whether the proposed fiduciary is the right person. For conservatorships, the petitioner must establish by clear and convincing evidence that the respondent has a disability and cannot manage their own affairs, and the sworn medical report often carries much of that burden.⁶ Any interested party may contest the petition. The judge will also consider less restrictive alternatives, such as a power of attorney, a supported decision-making arrangement, or a limited conservatorship transferring only specific rights.

If the court approves the petition, the order specifies exactly which decision-making rights have been transferred and any limits on the fiduciary’s authority.

After the Court Appoints You

You are not authorized to act until the court issues letters of guardianship or letters of conservatorship. Those letters are the official proof of your authority for banks, medical providers, schools, and anyone else you deal with on the ward’s behalf. Keep certified copies on hand.¹¹ You will also sign an oath affirming that you will act in the ward’s best interests.

In most cases, you must post a bond before the letters issue. The bond amount equals the fair market value of all personal property plus one year of anticipated income from all property, including real estate. The court has discretion to waive the bond in certain situations, including when the ward’s non-real-estate property totals $10,000 or less, when a bank or trust company serves as fiduciary, when the ward’s funds sit in a restricted account requiring court approval for withdrawals, when the appointment covers only the ward’s personal care and not finances, and when the ward’s property is deposited with the clerk. Bond premiums come out of the ward’s assets, so a waiver under one of those exceptions can save real money over the life of the case.

The bond premium, guardian ad litem fee, court costs, and attorney fees are all payable from the ward’s property, but no guardian ad litem fee, attorney fee, or investment management fee can be paid until the court approves the specific amount.¹⁴

Ongoing Accountings

Appointment is the beginning of the court’s involvement, not the end. Within 30 days after the six-month anniversary of your appointment, you must file a sworn accounting with the court. After that first filing, accountings are annual.¹⁵

Each accounting itemizes all money received and spent during the period, details the property held at the end of the period, and includes supporting bank and brokerage statements. You also submit copies of any federal and Tennessee income tax returns filed on the ward’s behalf, or a statement explaining why no return was due along with the ward’s gross income. If the bond is backed by a corporate surety, include a statement confirming the bond remains in force for the next annual period.¹⁵

Missed deadlines are one of the most common ways fiduciaries get into trouble. The court can extend for good cause, but silence is not good cause. If you know you will miss a filing, ask for an extension before the deadline passes. Repeated failures can lead to removal.

When It Ends

A guardianship of a minor ends automatically when the child turns 18. If the now-adult child has a disability that prevents independent decision-making, a separate conservatorship proceeding has to be initiated before or around that birthday. There is no automatic conversion from a minor guardianship into an adult conservatorship.

Adult conservatorships do not dissolve on their own either. If the respondent regains capacity, the conservator or any interested party must petition the court to terminate the arrangement. Until formal termination, the fiduciary stays legally responsible. A fiduciary who wants to step down submits a written resignation to the court, which does not take effect until the court approves it and accepts a final accounting.¹⁶ If the ward moves to another county or state, the court can permit a transfer, but a new fiduciary must be appointed in the receiving jurisdiction; you cannot simply stop performing your duties because the ward relocated.

1
Justia. Tennessee Code 34-1-101 – Chapter 1-3 Definitions
2
Justia. Tennessee Code 34-3-104 – Petition for Appointment Sworn
3
Justia. Tennessee Code 34-2-101 – Actions for Appointment of Guardian
4
Circuit Court Clerk. Probate Court Forms
5
FindLaw. Tennessee Code 34-1-102 – Parents as Natural Guardians
6
Justia. Tennessee Code 34-3-105 – Examination of Respondent
7
Tennessee Secretary of State. What Must a Nonresident Fiduciary File With the Tennessee Secretary of State?
8
Justia. Tennessee Code 34-3-101 – Action for Appointment of Conservator
9
Circuit Court Clerk. Probate Court Filing Fees (Effective January 1, 2026)
10
Tennessee Administrative Office of the Courts. Uniform Civil Affidavit of Indigency
11
Justia. Tennessee Code 34-1-104 – Letters of Guardianship or Conservatorship
12
Justia. Tennessee Code 34-1-107 – Guardian Ad Litem
13
Justia. Tennessee Code 34-1-108 – Hearings on Petitions Notice
14
FindLaw. Tennessee Code 34-1-113 – Costs and Fees of Fiduciary
15
Justia. Tennessee Code 34-1-111 – Accounting With Court
16
Justia. Tennessee Code 34-1-117 – Resignation of Fiduciary