Justice Alexander Hunter Jr.
Attorney Lucas sought an order directing petitioner to personally pay the court-ordered court evaluator's fees, and attend an inquest determining if a personal representative for the estate was appointed and their identity. Lucas was appointed the court evaluator to investigate assertions contained in the petition and recommend whether the court should appoint a guardian for G.V.S. Petitioner sought, and was granted appointment to serve as her father's personal and property management guardian. The court also awarded Lucas $15,900 to be paid by the guardian in a lump sum for services rendered as the court evaluator. G.V.S. later died, and the court found no part of Lucas' fee was paid. The court rejected petitioner's opposition papers citing an "obvious pattern of baseless excuses." It noted Lucas was entitled to reasonable compensation for serving in the proceeding as the court evaluator, yet as G.V.S. died before petitioner could file the court-ordered bond, she could never qualify as guardian, thus does not have the power to marshal G.V.S.'s assets to pay Lucas. Hence, the court directed Lucas to file a claim in Surrogate's Court for payment of her fees and expenses to be paid from G.V.S.'s estate, also granting her application for attorney fees.