DECIDED APRIL 7, 1988. Certiorari to the Court of Appeals of Georgia — 184 Ga. App. 846. Franklin Taulbee, James B. Franklin, Allen, Brown Edenfield, Gerald M. Edenfield, Michael J. Classens, for appellant.

Coomer, Judge. This case asks us to determine whether, under the statutes governing adult conservatorship and guardianship proceedings, a probate court has the authority to award attorney fees to privately retained counsel from the estate of a ward. In so doing, we are also asked to determine whether this Court’s prior holdings in In re Olliff , 184 Ga. App. 846, 363 S.E.2d 158 (1987) and In re Connell , 217 Ga. App. 523, 457 S.E.2d 832 (1995) still apply with respect to attorney fees, in light of revisions to the code section governing court proceedings involving guardians and wards. For the reasons discussed below, we find that the probate court did not err in finding that OCGA § 29-9-15 does not authorize the payment of attorney fees from the estate of a ward to privately retained counsel, and that our prior holdings in Olliff and Connell remain sound."Statutory interpretation presents a question of law and is subject to de novo review."

OCGA § 29-9-15. In In re Olliff , 184 Ga. App. 846, 363 S.E.2d 158 (1987), we considered an application for expenses and attorney fees filed pursuant to former OCGA § 29-5-13, a predecessor to OCGA § 29-9-15, and concluded that the " ‘expenses’ " referred to in that statute "are not expenses of litigation but, rather, are tantamount to ‘costs ’ incurred in a judicial proceeding. ..." ( Emphasis supplied.)

We note that the expenses referred to above "are not expenses of litigation but, rather, are tantamount to `costs' incurred in a judicial proceeding brought pursuant to OCGA Ch. 29-5. [Cits.]" In re Olliff, 184 Ga. App. 846, 847 ( 363 S.E.2d 158) (1987). Such costs or expenses do not include the fees of Mrs. Connell's privately retained attorney.