In re R.R.

2026 IL App (1st) 250890-U
Appellate Court of Illinois·Decided June 10, 2026·No. 1-25-0890·Unpublished

Opinion

2026 IL App (1st) 250890-U No. 1-25-0890

Third Division

June 10, 2026

NOTICE: This order was filed under Supreme Court Rule 23 and is not precedent except in the limited circumstances allowed under Rule 23(e)(1).

IN THE

APPELLATE COURT OF ILLINOIS FIRST DISTRICT

In re R.R., a Minor )

) Appeal from the Circuit Court (Kevin J. and Jocelyn Joh., ) of Cook County.

Petitioners, )

v. ) No. 2022 P 3977 Ashley J. and Rashad R., )

Respondents, ) The Honorable ) Barry Goldberg,

Kevin J., Petitioner-Appellant, ) Judge Presiding. Ashley J., Respondent-Appellee). )

JUSTICE REYES delivered the judgment of the court.

Justices Lampkin and Rochford concurred in the judgment.

ORDER

¶1 Held: The probate court’s judgment is affirmed, where (1) the probate court properly dismissed the petitioner’s petition for grandparent visitation and (2) its allocation of fees awarded to the guardian ad litem was not an abuse of discretion.

¶2 Kevin J. (Kevin) is the maternal grandfather of 10-year-old minor R.R. Kevin and Jocelyn Joh. (Jocelyn) (collectively, the grandparents) filed a petition for guardianship of R.R. in the probate division of the circuit court of Cook County, alleging that it would be in R.R.’s best interest for them to be her caregivers. We note that, while the grandparents refer to Jocelyn as “[g]randmother” and allege that they are the “maternal grandparents” of R.R., the record

indicates that she is not biologically related to R.R., nor is she married to Kevin. As Jocelyn is not a party to the instant appeal, however, we have no need to determine her legal status with respect to R.R., and we use the term “grandparents” solely for the sake of clarity when discussing Kevin and Jocelyn collectively.

¶3 After the filing of the guardianship petition, a guardian ad litem (GAL) was appointed to assist the probate court in determining R.R.’s best interests in the proceedings. Shortly before the matter was set for trial, the guardianship petition was voluntarily withdrawn. Acting pro se, Kevin instead renewed a previously-filed petition for grandparent visitation, which the probate court denied. The GAL proceeded to submit a petition for attorney fees with respect to the guardianship petition, and the grandparents were ultimately ordered to pay approximately 90% of the fees. In this pro se appeal, Kevin contends that the probate court erred in its application of the law concerning the petition for visitation and that the apportionment of the GAL’s fees was erroneous. For the reasons set forth below, we affirm the probate court’s judgment.

¶4 BACKGROUND

¶5 Grandparent Guardianship Petition

¶6 R.R. was born on September 6, 2015, to Ashley J. (Ashley) and Rashad R. (Rashad) (collectively, the parents); Kevin is Ashley’s father. On May 26, 2022, the grandparents filed a verified petition for guardianship of R.R. (guardianship petition), requesting that the probate court appoint them as her guardians pursuant to article 11 of the Probate Act of 1975 (Probate Act) (755 ILCS 5/art. XI (West 2022)).

¶7 In their petition, the grandparents alleged that they had been relative caregivers for R.R. for the past six years and were willing and able to make day-to-day childcare decisions. Ashley

had moved into the grandparents’ home in 2016, as she was struggling to provide for herself and R.R. due to a lack of finances and drug abuse. R.R. had lived with her grandparents “on and off” since that time “due to [Ashley’s] constant instability.” The grandparents alleged that, since R.R.’s birth, they had “provided the main emotional, physical, and financial support to [her], due to [Ashley’s] blatant drug abuse, unwillingness, and inability to properly care for the child and make day to day childcare decisions.” The grandparents alleged that it would be in the best interest of R.R. for them to be appointed guardians of her person instead of her parents. They further alleged that, while neither parent’s parental rights had been terminated, Ashley’s current whereabouts were unknown and neither parent was willing or able to carry out day-to-day childcare decisions concerning R.R., so the circuit court had the ability to proceed on the guardianship petition pursuant to the Probate Act.

¶8 Both Rashad and Ashley separately filed motions to dismiss the guardianship petition. First, Rashad claimed that both he and Ashley were fit parents who had joint custody of R.R. and supported her financially and emotionally. As such, he contended that the probate court lacked jurisdiction to proceed on the grandparents’ guardianship petition. Similarly, Ashley asserted that the probate court lacked jurisdiction and the guardianship petition failed to plead sufficient facts to rebut the presumption that there was a parent willing and able to care for R.R. Ashley also contended that a parental allocation settlement agreement entered into between the parents in the domestic relations division superseded the probate cause of action.

¶9 The probate court denied both motions to dismiss, finding that an evidentiary hearing was required in order to determine whether the grandparents had standing under the Probate Act to bring a guardianship petition. The probate court also appointed a GAL to conduct an investigation as to R.R.’s best interest and to make a recommendation to the court.

¶ 10 Grandparent Petition for Visitation

¶ 11 On December 30, 2022, the grandparents filed a verified petition for permanent and temporary grandparent visitation (petition for visitation), in which they alleged that, since May 2022, R.R.’s parents had denied them any visitation with her “for no legitimate reason” based on the parents’ animosity toward the grandparents. Consequently, the grandparents sought an award of permanent grandparent visitation pursuant to the Illinois Marriage and Dissolution of Marriage Act (Marriage Act) (750 ILCS 5/602.9 (West 2022)), as well as an award of temporary grandparent visitation pending the outcome of the guardianship petition.

¶ 12 Both parents separately filed motions to dismiss the petition for visitation. In his motion, Rashad first noted that there was an active parentage action in the domestic relations division through which the parents had entered into a parental allocation settlement agreement (case No. 21 D 079672). In addition, Rashad indicated that Kevin had previously filed a petition for visitation in the domestic relations division in 2020 before the same judge who was later assigned the parentage case, which he ultimately voluntarily dismissed (case No. 20 D 000791). As such, if the probate court declined to dismiss the petition for visitation, Rashad requested that the matter be transferred to the domestic relations judge presiding over the parentage action.

¶ 13 In her motion, Ashley claimed that Jocelyn lacked standing to seek grandparent visitation, as she was not a grandparent to R.R. She further contended that the petition for visitation lacked sufficient factual allegations to support the grandparents’ claims concerning harm to R.R.’s mental, physical, or emotional health, as required by statute.

¶ 14 On the date of the hearing for the petition for visitation, the parties instead agreed to permit Kevin to have temporary visitation with R.R. pursuant to the GAL’s recommendation that such

visitation be granted, and the probate court entered an agreed order to that effect. The probate court subsequently entered several additional agreed orders further permitting temporary visitation. The parties also proceeded to engage in discovery concerning the guardianship petition.

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In re R.R., 2026 IL App (1st) 250890-U (Ill. Ct. App. 2026).

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