Illinois estate administration
Small-estate limit: $150,000
This guide explains probate in Illinois: 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. Latest primary-source re-fetch September 15, 2026.
The small estate affidavit is available where no letters of office are outstanding and the decedent's personal estate passing by intestacy or will is limited to tangible and intangible personal property not exceeding $150,000 (excluding motor vehicles registered with the Secretary of State) plus SoS-registered motor vehicles. Real property is not transferred by the affidavit.
Small estate affidavit (755 ILCS 5/25-1)Simplified route
The small estate affidavit is available where no letters of office are outstanding and the decedent's personal estate passing by intestacy or will is limited to tangible and intangible personal property not exceeding $150,000 (excluding motor vehicles registered with the Secretary of State) plus SoS-registered motor vehicles. Real property is not transferred by the affidavit.
Eligibility and caveatsCourt cost
Illinois has no single statewide probate filing fee. The circuit clerk in each county sets fees under the Clerks of Courts Act, with amounts varying by county class, so the opening cost is county-specific.
Filing-cost detailExecutor compensation
755 ILCS 5/27-1 entitles the representative to reasonable compensation for services. Illinois has NO statutory percentage schedule; the amount is what the court finds reasonable in the circumstances.
Compensation detailCreditor deadline
Illinois combines a notice-based bar date (755 ILCS 5/18-3: at least 6 months from first publication or 3 months from mailing) with an independent 2-year outer nonclaim bar from the date of death (755 ILCS 5/18-12). These run from different triggers and cannot honestly collapse into a single day count.
755 ILCS 5/18-3 (Illinois General Assembly; reviewed August 9, 2026)
Timeline and creditor detailsThese are the Illinois provisions read end to end on the enacting state’s own site, rather than summarised from a secondary source. The middle column is what reading each one actually established for Illinois — not a restatement of the topic — and the last column records the date the wording was read, so a later amendment can be spotted by comparing dates.
| 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
Use this map before opening a form or entering a number. It keeps the Illinois amount test, time gate, court cost, and creditor record separate so one easy figure does not stand in for the whole administration.
| Question | Recorded Illinois answer | Carry into the case |
|---|---|---|
| What route is being screened? | Small estate affidavit (755 ILCS 5/25-1) | Confirm that the will, prior appointment, family facts, and asset titles fit this route. |
| What property and basis count? | personal probate property only; gross value for this route. | Keep real property, liens, beneficiary transfers, and survivorship transfers classified separately. |
| What is the amount screen? | $150,000 | Use the counted property, not a bank-balance shortcut. |
| What is the time or deadline record? | No waiting-period number verified; Illinois combines a notice-based bar date (755 ILCS 5/18-3: at least 6 months from first publication or 3 months from mailing) with an independent 2-year outer nonclaim bar from the date of death (755 ILCS 5/18-12). These run from different triggers and cannot honestly collapse into a single day count. | Keep the event that starts each clock with the date; do not combine separate periods into one number. |
| What does the cost record establish? | No single statewide amount is published here; confirm the receiving court's current schedule. | Ask the Circuit Court about local surcharges, copies, publication, bond, and later filings. |
| What does compensation use? | 755 ILCS 5/27-1 entitles the representative to reasonable compensation for services. Illinois has NO statutory percentage schedule; the amount is what the court finds reasonable in the circumstances. The relevant base is the estate accounting. | Keep the will, task log, receipts, and accounting base together; extraordinary work is separate. |
Arithmetic illustration
The recorded Illinois ceiling is $150,000, and it is tested against personal probate property only, on a basis this site records as gross value for this route. Counted that way, $112,500 sits below the Illinois figure and $187,500 sits above it. Both are comparisons to a published number rather than legal outcomes: two estates holding the same total can land on opposite sides of this line, because what Illinois counts and how it values it are decided before the comparison is made.
| Illustrative counted amount | Comparison to the Illinois ceiling | What it does not decide |
|---|---|---|
| $112,500 | Below $150,000 | Title, liens, waiting period, appointment, or creditor duties |
| $187,500 | Above $150,000 | Whether another statutory route or court process applies |
Next evidence to collect
Official 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.
Source trail
This is general information, not legal, tax, or financial advice, and it does not create an attorney-client relationship. Probate law varies by state and county and changes over time. Verify the current rule with the court or a licensed attorney in the relevant state.
The statutes on this page state the rule. These are the documents the court itself publishes. Every link is probed before release, and any link that stops resolving fails the build rather than staying on the page.
Official statewide approved forms index.
Official self-help center.
Each legal input links to the government source reviewed for this page. Source text can change; confirm the current rule before acting.
Reviewed source note: the decedent's personal estate passing to any party by intestacy or under a will is limited to: (A) excluding motor vehicles registered with the Secretary of State, tangible and intangible personal property not exceeding $150,000; and (B) motor vehicles registered with the Secretary of State.
What this means: The $150,000 ceiling is measured on personal property excluding motor vehicles registered with the Secretary of State; the affidavit does not transfer real property.
Reviewed source note: Sec. 27-1. Fees of representative. A representative is entitled to reasonable compensation for his services,
Reviewed source note: claims may be filed on or before the date stated in the notice, which date shall be not less than 6 months from the date of the first publication or 3 months from the date of mailing
What this means: Sets the claim-bar date stated in the published/mailed notice: at least 6 months from first publication (or 3 months from mailing). Part of a multi-trigger framework, so creditorClaims is reported unknown.
Reviewed source note: all claims which could have been barred under this Section are, in any event, barred 2 years after decedent's death
What this means: Outer nonclaim bar: all claims are barred 2 years after death, independent of the notice date under 18-3. Two independent triggers, so creditorClaims is reported unknown.