Judge David D. Wolfe granted an emergency guardianship to Lavada England for 10‑year‑old Kinley Noel Dunn after the child’s mother died on Nov. 24, 2024, and the court directed counsel and the parties to consult the putative‑father registry before undertaking any further paternity investigation.

The emergency appointment gives England temporary legal authority to enroll the child in school, take Kinley to medical appointments and perform other duties of a guardian while the parties prepare for a permanent guardianship proceeding required to occur within the statutory timetable.

Attorney Chad Duncan told the court that a petition had been filed and that the court had already signed an emergency order appointing England as emergency guardian. During testimony and brief questioning under oath, England confirmed she is Kinley’s grandmother and that the child is 10 years old. Counsel reported the child’s mother, identified in the record as Kyla Michelle Lee, died Nov. 24, 2024. In response to the court’s questions about the child’s father, England and counsel said the father had not been located and had not been part of the child’s life.

The child’s appointed attorney, Jennifer Foster, told the court she met with England and Kinley and had discussed the matter with the child’s relatives; Foster said she did not oppose the emergency guardianship and believed it was in Kinley’s best interest. The judge accepted that recommendation and signed the emergency guardianship on the record.

The judge advised the parties that the statute requires proceeding toward a permanent guardianship hearing on an expedited schedule and discussed the need to consult the state’s putative‑father registry. The court directed that the registry be checked and that, absent any identification of a father there, no further investigation would be required for the purposes of the emergency order. The court said the parties should file the petition that will set the permanent proceeding promptly and left a blank in the written order to record whether a putative father is identified.

The court did not record any objections on the emergency appointment. The case will proceed to the next step under Tennessee law for conversion or ratification of the emergency appointment at a later hearing.