The Burdette Law Firm
Recent Tennessee Divorce Law
Court of Appeals Decisions

In Re Guardianship of Taylour L., et al. W2013-01296-COA-R3-CV Authoring Judge: Judge Andy D. Bennett Trial Court Judge: Judge Robert Benham

This appeal concerns a guardianship proceeding for four children. The mother of the children (“Mother”) was killed while on duty as a police officer. The children’s maternal grandmother and the father (“Father”) of three of the children sought custody of all four children. The trial court ultimately awarded custody to the children’s maternal grandfather “Grandfather”), although Grandfather was not a party to the proceedings and did not request guardianship of the four children. Father appeals, asserting that the trial court erred in not awarding custody to him. We have determined that the trial court erred in awarding Grandfather guardianship of Father’s three biological children without first determining that there would be a substantial risk of harm to the children should Father be appointed guardian. Furthermore, we find that the trial court erred in awarding Grandfather guardianship of Mother’s fourth child without conducting a thorough best interest analysis. Therefore, we vacate the trial court and remand for further proceedings.

See the entire opinion

If you have questions and need our assistance in a similar legal matter, please call us at (901) 756-7878 or use the contact form to the right.