In re Estate of K.E.J.

              1 To help keep the identity of K.E.J. from being revealed, we are referring to her guardian
by her initials only, and we are omitting the surname of her father.
SIXTH DIVISION
April 18, 2008
Nos. 1-06-2263 & 1-06-3077 & 1-07-0618 cons.
In re ESTATE OF K.E.J., a Disabled Person) Appeal from the
) Circuit Court of
(V.H., ) Cook County, Illinois.
)
Petitioner-Appellant, ) No. 96 P 11118
)
v. ))
Honorable
K.E.J., ) James Riley
) Judge Presiding.
Respondent-Appellee). )
JUSTICE JOSEPH GORDON delivered the opinion of the court:
Guardian V.H. petitioned the court below to allow involuntary sterilization of her ward
K.E.J., a 29-year-old mentally disabled woman, by means of a tubal ligation.1 The court denied
the petition, ruling that V.H. had not sufficiently demonstrated that a tubal ligation was in K.E.J.’s
best interests.
The three key issues raised in this appeal are as follows: (1) whether the trial court erred
in denying V.H.’s petition to have K.E.J. undergo tubal ligation; (2) whether it was proper for the
trial court to award V.H. attorney fees for the trial proceedings out of K.E.J.’s estate, and
whether we have jurisdiction to consider this issue; and (3) whether it was proper for the trial
court to deny attorney fees for the appellate proceedings. For the reasons that follow, we affirm
on the first issue, affirm the denial of appellate fees, and remand on the issue of trial fees.