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Illinois source record

Every source behind the Illinois guide

4 primary records, quoted verbatim and checked against 13 named presence or absence conditions that must pass against the live government text. Open the record, read the words the publishing body actually used, and confirm the current rule for yourself.

Last full re-fetch September 15, 2026

What each source establishes

The Illinois guide rests on the source-backed rules this site can verify for the state: which simplified procedure exists and what it limits, what the court charges, how the person administering the estate may be paid, and the statutory creditor-deadline clocks the official text states.Every published rule below is quoted in the publisher’s own words rather than summarised.

Simplified-procedure rule

755 ILCS 5/25-1

Illinois General Assembly · (Source: P.A. 104-346, eff. 8-15-25.) · Verified August 9, 2026

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.

What was published from this source

  • IL 755 ILCS 5/25-1

Conditions checked against the live text

Each condition below must be found in the page as the publisher currently serves it. If any one of them stops matching, the build fails and the figure is withheld rather than published from memory.

  • IL small-estate $150,000 personal property
  • IL 25-1 section number
  • IL 25-1 section identity
  • section identity

Response digest 21e2a11a841d7b39… · HTTP 200

Executor compensation rule

755 ILCS 5/27-1

Illinois General Assembly · (Source: P.A. 102-72, eff. 1-1-22 .) · Verified August 9, 2026

Sec. 27-1. Fees of representative. A representative is entitled to reasonable compensation for his services,

What was published from this source

  • IL 755 ILCS 5/27-1

Conditions checked against the live text

Each condition below must be found in the page as the publisher currently serves it. If any one of them stops matching, the build fails and the figure is withheld rather than published from memory.

  • IL executor reasonable compensation
  • IL 27-1 section identity
  • section identity

Response digest 5bcce9520afcb6bb… · HTTP 200

Creditor deadline rule

755 ILCS 5/18-3

Illinois General Assembly · (Source: P.A. 86-815.) · Verified August 9, 2026

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.

What was published from this source

  • IL 755 ILCS 5/18-3

Conditions checked against the live text

Each condition below must be found in the page as the publisher currently serves it. If any one of them stops matching, the build fails and the figure is withheld rather than published from memory.

  • IL notice date 6 months from publication
  • IL 18-3 section identity
  • section identity

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Creditor deadline rule

755 ILCS 5/18-12

Illinois General Assembly · (Source: P.A. 89-21, eff. 7-1-95; 89-686, eff. 12-31-96.) · Verified August 9, 2026

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.

What was published from this source

  • IL 755 ILCS 5/18-12

Conditions checked against the live text

Each condition below must be found in the page as the publisher currently serves it. If any one of them stops matching, the build fails and the figure is withheld rather than published from memory.

  • IL 2-year outer nonclaim bar
  • IL 18-12 section identity
  • section identity

Response digest 02f1052b1e05434b… · HTTP 200

Statutes read in full for Illinois

These 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.

CitationWhat reading it establishedRead on
705 ILCS 105/27.1bIllinois sets a statutory ceiling on the filing fee and lets each county board fix the actual number underneath it — court and filing cost note2026-09-17
755 ILCS 5/18-12Illinois bars a claim by what the notice said, and backstops it at two years — creditor deadline note2026-09-17
755 ILCS 5/25-1Illinois counts motor vehicles outside its $150,000 affidavit ceiling — small estate route note2026-09-17
755 ILCS 5/27-1Illinois sets no rate, but it does name people who may not be paid at all — representative pay note2026-09-17

Illinois source decision map

How the Illinois records fit together

The source record is most useful when each citation has a job. This map links the Illinois procedure, cost, compensation, and deadline records to the decision each one can and cannot answer.

QuestionRecorded Illinois answerCarry 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?$150,000Use 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.

Decision boundary

What the Illinois source set does not silently decide

The Illinois records establish the rules listed above, but they do not turn a source citation into advice about title, family priority, tax filing, contested proceedings, or the exact clerk practice in every county. Those questions stay with the official court or a qualified adviser. The useful next step is to match the question to the citation rather than treating the longest quote as the answer to every estate problem.

Arithmetic illustration

See the Illinois amount screen without mistaking it for a result

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 amountComparison to the Illinois ceilingWhat it does not decide
$112,500Below $150,000Title, liens, waiting period, appointment, or creditor duties
$187,500Above $150,000Whether another statutory route or court process applies

Next evidence to collect

Open the quoted record for the row you rely on and check the publisher's current text before filing.

  1. Record the date of death, the county, and the exact proceeding or affidavit being considered.
  2. Classify each asset by title, beneficiary, trust, real-property status, and the value basis shown above.
  3. Open the official court material below and keep its form or schedule with the estate record.
  4. Do not distribute property until the route, creditor position, and required approvals are resolved.

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

Records used by this Illinois map

  • 755 ILCS 5/25-1755 ILCS 5/25-1 - Small estate affidavit; reviewed August 9, 2026
  • 755 ILCS 5/27-1755 ILCS 5/27-1 - Fees of representative; reviewed August 9, 2026
  • 755 ILCS 5/18-3755 ILCS 5/18-3 - Notice - Publication; reviewed August 9, 2026
  • 755 ILCS 5/18-12755 ILCS 5/18-12 - Limitations on payment of claims; reviewed August 9, 2026

What Illinois courts publish

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.

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.

Checking these Illinois records against the publishers

Every citation above links to the body that publishes it, and every quoted sentence is reproduced exactly, so a text search on the publisher’s own page should land on it. Where the publisher’s current wording differs from what is recorded here, the publisher governs and this page is wrong; naming the citation and the language you see maps the difference onto a specific condition rather than a general complaint. The full procedure, including how a source qualifies in the first place and what disqualifies one, is set out once on the methodology page instead of being restated on each of the254 state records.

These records cover the cost and route questions this site answers for Illinois. They do not cover intestate succession shares, spousal and family allowances, creditor priority, tax filing obligations, real-property transfer mechanics, or contested proceedings. Where an answer would require one of those, the site says so rather than estimating.

Return to the Illinois estate guide ·All 254 records ·Dataset overview and citation ·How sources are selected