§ 33-3-102 — Specific rights protected

(a) No person with mental illness or serious emotional disturbance hospitalized or admitted, whether voluntarily or involuntarily, or ordered to participate in nonresidential treatment or service under this title, shall, solely by reason of the hospitalization, admission, or order, be denied the right to dispose of property, execute instruments, make purchases, enter into contractual relationships, give informed consent to treatment, and vote, unless: (1) The service recipient has been adjudicated incompetent by a court of competent jurisdiction and has not been restored to legal capacity; or (2) The denial is authorized by state or federal statute. (b) No person shall make decisions for a service recipient on the basis of a claim to be the service recipient's conservator, legal guardian, guardian ad litem, caregiver under title 34, chapter 6, part 3, or to be acting under a durable power of attorney for health care under title 34, chapter 6, part 2, until the person has presented written evidence of the person's status.

Legislative History

Amended by 2024 Tenn. Acts, ch. 688,s 59, eff. 7/1/2024. Acts 2000, ch. 947, § 1; 2002, ch. 730, § 9; 2004, ch. 565, § 2.