What you need
The law asks for every receipt and expenditure in the period, and the property you hold at its end. Like items may be grouped. §34-1-111(d)(1) (opens in a new tab)
Attach these with every accounting:
- Every bank and brokerage statement for the period.
- Each cancelled check, or a bank statement showing its payee, amount and date cleared. Davidson accepts images of both sides.
- The ward’s U.S. and Tennessee tax returns, or a statement that none is due, with the ward’s gross income.
- If a surety company wrote the bond, its statement that the bond is in force for the next year.
- A statement of the ward’s physical or mental condition, and the date of your last contact.
Davidson County’s packet also asks for a register for each account and a certificate of service on every interested party. Davidson checklist (opens in a new tab)
The statute counts the annual due date from each anniversary of the first accounting. The Davidson clerk’s packet says 30 days after 12 months from the date you filed it. Davidson clerk (opens in a new tab)
The example follows Olive Ledbetter, an invented ward. The Davidson County Probate Court appointed her conservator on 03/10/2025. Her first accounting covered the six months to 09/10/2025. This one covers 09/11/2025 through 09/10/2026. Counting the statute’s anniversary from the first period’s end, it is due 11/09/2026. Davidson’s clerk counts from the day the first one was filed, so ask the clerk which date it uses.
Beginning balance, plus receipts, less disbursements, equals ending balance
Davidson’s summary page totals all of her accounts together. The beginning balance is the last accounting’s ending balance. Shelby County’s form runs the same way. Shelby Accounting (opens in a new tab)
| Beginning balance 09/11/2025 | $26,595.60 |
|---|---|
| Total receipts (+) | 29,603.18 |
| Total disbursements (−) | 28,970.15 |
| Ending balance 09/10/2026 | $27,228.63 |
| Checking | 4,624.45 |
| Savings | 22,604.18 |
| Total of the accounts | $27,228.63 |
Where the figures came from
| Social Security, $1,412.00 × 12 | $16,944.00 |
|---|---|
| Pension, $386.25 × 12 | 4,635.00 |
| Savings interest | 224.18 |
| Sale of her 2014 Buick | 7,800.00 |
| Receipts | $29,603.18 |
| Assisted living, $2,150.00 × 12 | $25,800.00 |
|---|---|
| Medicare supplement, $198.40 × 12 | 2,380.80 |
| Pharmacy | 614.35 |
| Bond premium | 175.00 |
| Disbursements | $28,970.15 |
| Checking, $4,215.60 opening | $4,624.45 |
|---|---|
| Savings, $22,380.00 opening | 22,604.18 |
| Ending balance | $27,228.63 |
The sale
Olive’s car was never in an account, so the $7,800.00 it sold for is a receipt. The local-rule note printed on Shelby’s accounting form gives the same example: proceeds from the sale of a car. A motor vehicle needs no court order to sell. §34-1-116(b) (opens in a new tab)
Checking took in the benefits and the sale, and paid every bill: $4,215.60 + $16,944.00 + $4,635.00 + $7,800.00 − $28,970.15 = $4,624.45. Savings earned only its interest.
When the court may excuse it
After a hearing, the court may excuse the financial part in two cases. You hold no property and receive only fixed benefits spent on the ward. Or accounting would cost more than 25% of the property’s income. §34-1-111(i) (opens in a new tab)
The condition statement is still due every year. The court cannot waive it.
Common mistakes
A first accounting covering a year
The first one covers six months. Each one after it covers 12. §34-1-111(a) (opens in a new tab)
A sale without an order
A car, or an item worth less than $1,000, sells without the court’s approval. Anything else needs an order first, unless you file no property management plan or your approved plan covers the sale. §34-1-116 (opens in a new tab)
Entries that say only “Deposit”
Give each entry its date, source and amount. The local-rule note on Shelby’s form shows a deposit named by bank and account number.
A late accounting draws a notice from the clerk, then a citation 30 days later. You may be charged with the year’s starting assets plus interest. §34-1-111(f)–(h) (opens in a new tab)
The final accounting
A conservatorship ends at the ward’s death or on an order that it is no longer needed. Within 120 days, file a preliminary final accounting from the last accounting to that date. It sets out the final distribution you propose (T.C.A. §34-3-108(e) (opens in a new tab)). For a minor’s estate the time is 60 days after the guardianship ends (T.C.A. §34-2-106(b)(4) (opens in a new tab)).
The clerk reports on it. If no one objects within 30 days, you distribute, then file the receipts and the final cancelled checks. The court’s order closes the case.
After a death, your duty continues only to make reasonable funeral arrangements. The cost is credited to you (T.C.A. §34-1-113(e) (opens in a new tab)). A resignation takes effect only once the final accounting is approved (T.C.A. §34-1-117(a) (opens in a new tab)).
Sources
- T.C.A. §34-1-111 (opens in a new tab), when accountings are due and what they contain
- T.C.A. §34-1-116 (opens in a new tab), sales that need an order
- T.C.A. §34-1-131 (opens in a new tab), the clerk’s report
- Interim/Annual Accounting, Conservatorship (opens in a new tab), Davidson County Probate Court
- Procedural Information, Conservator/Guardianship Matters (opens in a new tab), Davidson County Circuit Court Clerk
- Accounting (opens in a new tab), Probate Court of Shelby County
Also for Tennessee: Conservator’s Inventory
We make Fidura, guardianship accounting software built on a reconciled register for each ward. See the product
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