Legal Question in Family Law in Illinois

I was taken to court for Grandparent visitation rights by my mother. She claimed to be a primary caretaker of my son in order to get a case. She never was a primary caretaker and she had no proof that she was. My father said in his deposition that she baby sat every once in a while, but was not a primary caretaker. Well, this case has been going on for a year and a half to finally get a hearing. My lawyer and her lawyer met with the judge to do a pretrial in the judges chamber? I'm not sure if that is the correct term for what they did. After a half an hour with him, my attorney told me that my mom is dropping the case. The judge basically said they don't have a case and the only way she is going to see my son is to reconcile with me. I asked my attorney how I could get my attorney fees paid back because she never had a case to begin with. She costs me thousands of dollars only to drop the case. He said it would be hard because she dropped it and there never was a decision made on it. That doesn't seem fair that she could cause me to pay soo much in attorney fees and I can't get it back because she dropped it? Can you please provide me with any info regarding this. Thanks!


Asked on 11/08/10, 1:28 pm

1 Answer from Attorneys
Jonathan Shimberg Shimberg and Crohn, P.C.

Without knowing the finances of the parties, it is hard to answer this question. If the request with without basis in law can you seek fees, but courts are hesitant to award fees. Your chances of recovering fees are not great and may not be worth the additional expense.

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Answered on 11/14/10, 3:14 pm


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