Tenn. Code Ann. § 37-1-803

This is the official text of Tenn. Code Ann. § 37-1-803, part of Tennessee’s Code Ann — part of the compiled statutory law of Tennessee, published by the state as "Code Ann." Browse the sections below, each linked to its official government source.

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Permanent guardianship not a termination of parent child relationship - Visitation, contact and sharing of information

Official statutory text

(a) Entry of a permanent guardianship order does not terminate the parent and child relationship, including: (1) The right of the child to inherit from the child's parents; (2) The parents' right to visit or contact the child, as defined by the court; (3) The parents' right to consent to the child's adoption; and (4) The parents' responsibility to provide financial, medical, and other support for the child. (b) The permanent guardianship order shall specify the frequency and nature of visitation or contact or the sharing of information with parents and the child. The court shall issue an order regarding visitation, contact and the sharing of information based on the best interests of the child. The order may restrict or prohibit visitation, contact and the sharing of information. The order may incorporate an agreement reached among the parties. (1) Upon a showing by affidavit of immediate harm to the child, the court may temporarily stay, for a maximum of thirty (30) days, the order of visitation or contact, on an ex parte basis, until a hearing can be held. A modification of an order of visitation or contact shall be based upon a finding, by a preponderance of evidence, that there has been a substantial change in the material circumstances, and that the proposed modification is in the best interest of the child. (2) Nothing in this part shall prevent removal of the child by the department from the permanent guardian, based upon allegations of abuse or neglect, pursuant to §§ 37-1-113 and 37-1-128 . Acts 2005, ch. 389, § 1; 2006, ch. 802, § 1.
(a) Entry of a permanent guardianship order does not terminate the parent and child relationship, including: (1) The right of the child to inherit from the child's parents; (2) The parents' right to visit or contact the child, as defined by the court; (3) The parents' right to consent to the child's adoption; and (4) The parents' responsibility to provide financial, medical, and other support for the child.
(1) The right of the child to inherit from the child's parents;
(2) The parents' right to visit or contact the child, as defined by the court;
(3) The parents' right to consent to the child's adoption; and
(4) The parents' responsibility to provide financial, medical, and other support for the child.
(b) The permanent guardianship order shall specify the frequency and nature of visitation or contact or the sharing of information with parents and the child. The court shall issue an order regarding visitation, contact and the sharing of information based on the best interests of the child. The order may restrict or prohibit visitation, contact and the sharing of information. The order may incorporate an agreement reached among the parties. (1) Upon a showing by affidavit of immediate harm to the child, the court may temporarily stay, for a maximum of thirty (30) days, the order of visitation or contact, on an ex parte basis, until a hearing can be held. A modification of an order of visitation or contact shall be based upon a finding, by a preponderance of evidence, that there has been a substantial change in the material circumstances, and that the proposed modification is in the best interest of the child. (2) Nothing in this part shall prevent removal of the child by the department from the permanent guardian, based upon allegations of abuse or neglect, pursuant to §§ 37-1-113 and 37-1-128 .
(1) Upon a showing by affidavit of immediate harm to the child, the court may temporarily stay, for a maximum of thirty (30) days, the order of visitation or contact, on an ex parte basis, until a hearing can be held. A modification of an order of visitation or contact shall be based upon a finding, by a preponderance of evidence, that there has been a substantial change in the material circumstances, and that the proposed modification is in the best interest of the child.
temporarily stay, for a maximum of thirty (30) days, the order of visitation or contact, on an ex parte basis, until a hearing can be held. A modification of an order of visitation or contact shall be based upon a finding, by a preponderance of evidence, that there has been a substantial change in the material circumstances, and that the proposed modification is in the best interest of the child.
(2) Nothing in this part shall prevent removal of the child by the department from the permanent guardian, based upon allegations of abuse or neglect, pursuant to §§ 37-1-113 and 37-1-128 .
Acts 2005, ch. 389, § 1; 2006, ch. 802, § 1.

Status: in_force

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About this page: Statute text is reproduced from official government publishers via the Open US Law dataset (Vaquill AI, snapshot v2026.08, CC BY 4.0). Primary legislative text like this is public domain under the government-edicts doctrine (Georgia v. Public.Resource.Org, 2020). We link every section back to its official source so you can verify it independently.