Simplified route
$150,000
Small estate affidavit (755 ILCS 5/25-1); waiting period not verified.
Eligibility and caveatsIllinois estate administration
Illinois probate: rules, process, costs, executor fees and deadlines
Small-estate limit: $150,000
In Illinois, estates up to $150,000 can use the small-estate route; executor pay is whatever the court finds reasonable (755 ILCS 5/27-1); and creditors get at least six months after first publication, or three months after mailed notice if later, two years after death at most. In Illinois, decedents' estates are administered in the Circuit Court of the county of residence. Personal estates of $150,000 or less (excluding SoS-registered motor vehicles) can be handled with a small estate affidavit instead of full probate. Filing fees are set by each county's circuit clerk.
Sources reviewed August 9, 2026. Sources rechecked October 3, 2026. This page last revised .
Answer first
Illinois simplified probate route
Up to $150,000; waiting period not verified. Source: 755 ILCS 5/25-1.
Small estate affidavit (755 ILCS 5/25-1)No combined Illinois probate total
The Circuit Court where the estate is opened sets or collects the filing charge. Executor pay is reasonable compensation (755 ILCS 5/27-1), not a rate. Each side in full: Illinois probate filing cost and Illinois executor fees.
Screen a specific Illinois estate with the calculators on the small-estate page and the executor-fee page, or compare states in the full estate navigator.
What the reviewed rules establish
Court cost
Varies locally
Set locally; ask the receiving court.
Filing-cost detailExecutor compensation
Court-reviewed
No percentage schedule; the court decides what is reasonable. Source: 755 ILCS 5/27-1.
Compensation detailCreditor deadline
Multiple triggers
755 ILCS 5/18-3 (Illinois General Assembly; reviewed August 9, 2026)
Timeline and creditor detailsStatutes read in full for Illinois
Read on the enacting state’s own site, with the date each was read.
| Citation | What reading it established | Read on |
|---|---|---|
| 705 ILCS 105/27.1b | Illinois sets a statutory ceiling on the filing fee and lets each county board fix the actual number underneath it — court and filing cost note | 2026-09-17 |
| 755 ILCS 5/18-12 | Illinois bars a claim by what the notice said, and backstops it at two years — creditor deadline note | 2026-09-17 |
| 755 ILCS 5/25-1 | Illinois counts motor vehicles outside its $150,000 affidavit ceiling — small estate route note | 2026-09-17 |
| 755 ILCS 5/27-1 | Illinois sets no rate, but it does name people who may not be paid at all — representative pay note | 2026-09-17 |
Illinois decision map
The four facts that change the Illinois route
Each Illinois answer below links to the page that sets out its source.
| Question | Recorded Illinois answer |
|---|---|
| What route is being screened? | Small estate affidavit (755 ILCS 5/25-1) |
| What property and basis count? | personal probate property only; gross value for this route. |
| What is the amount screen? | $150,000 |
| What is the time or deadline record? | No waiting-period number verified; creditor deadlines: separate clocks by triggering event |
| What does the cost record establish? | No single statewide amount is published here; confirm the receiving court's current schedule. |
| What does compensation use? | Reasonable compensation set by the court, measured on the estate accounting. |
Limits and unresolved costs
Continue
What Illinois courts publish
Each link goes to the court’s own page and is checked before every release.
- Forms indexIllinois Courts — Approved Statewide FormsIllinois Courts (Administrative Office)
Official statewide approved forms index.
- Self-help centreIllinois Courts — Self-HelpIllinois Courts (Administrative Office)
Official self-help center.
Limits on court material
- Illinois probate is heard in the Circuit Court of the county where the decedent lived; the small estate affidavit under 755 ILCS 5/25-1 avoids opening a probate estate. Filing fees are set by each circuit clerk.
Illinois primary sources
Each rule on the Illinois pages comes from one of these 4 sources; the citation opens the publisher’s own text. All were last rechecked October 3, 2026.
Simplified-procedure rule
755 ILCS 5/25-1, Small estate affidavit.
Executor compensation rule
755 ILCS 5/27-1, Fees of representative.
Creditor deadline rule
755 ILCS 5/18-3, Notice - Publication.
Creditor deadline rule
755 ILCS 5/18-12, Limitations on payment of claims.
Sources rechecked October 3, 2026: Illinois source list · how sources are checked · report a correction