TN RO

Based on a new law that became effective in 2021 creating lifetime orders of protection that last until death of one of the parties, we revised What types of protection orders are there? How long do they last? and How much does it cost? Do I need a lawyer? in our Tennessee Protection Orders for Domestic Violence, Sexual Assault, and Stalking section. We also added a link to the lifetime protection order to our Tennessee Download Court Forms page.

Also, based on 2021 changes to the law in our Tennessee Orders of Protection for Elderly or Vulnerable Adults page, we updated What is the legal definition of sexual exploitation? to account for the fact that sexual exploitation now also includes an act that was committed for the purpose of dissemination to others, knowing it would offend or embarrass a reasonable person. Also, one of the acts was changed from “fondling” to “sexual contact” as defined by the law. We also updated What is the legal definition of financial exploitation? to account for the fact that the law now recognizes that financial exploitation can be committed by a caregiver’s accomplice, not just the caregiver. And we added the expanded definition of “physical harm” to What is the legal definition of abuse and aggravated abuse?

We added two related statutes to our Selected Tennessee Statutes page