Illinois

Illinois probate is heard in the circuit court of the county where the deceased lived,
under the Probate Act of 1975. The court issues letters of office to the executor —
Illinois's term for what most states call letters testamentary.

Independent administration

Illinois offers independent administration, which lets the representative sell assets,
pay claims and distribute without returning to court for approval at each step. It is the
default where the will asks for it and no heir objects, and it is markedly cheaper than
supervised administration. A single heir can force supervision by demanding it, so keeping
the beneficiaries informed has a direct cost consequence.

The small estate affidavit

Where the estate is only personal property under the statutory ceiling, no court case is
needed at all — a small estate affidavit is presented directly to the bank or transfer
agent. The threshold was raised to $150,000 effective 15 August 2025, up from $100,000,
and Illinois-registered vehicles sit outside the cap entirely. Confirm the current figure
before relying on it. Real property cannot be transferred this way.

The Illinois estate tax catches ordinary families

This is the one to plan around. Illinois levies its own estate tax above an exclusion of
$4 million — far below the federal threshold — and, crucially, the Illinois exclusion
is not portable between spouses. A surviving spouse cannot inherit the unused portion the
way they can federally. A couple who leave everything outright to each other can waste one
exclusion entirely. Confirm the current figure; legislation to raise it has been introduced
more than once without passing.

Before distributing

Give creditors their statutory claim period, file the Illinois and federal returns, and only
then distribute.

The Probate Act sets three requirements and no more: the will must be in writing,
signed by the testator (or by someone else at their direction and in their presence), and
attested by two credible witnesses who sign in the testator's presence. The testator must
be 18 or older and of sound mind.

Illinois does not accept holographic wills — at all

A will written out entirely by hand and left unwitnessed is not valid in Illinois under
any circumstances. There is no exception for emergencies, none for members of the armed
forces, and no curative provision letting a court rescue a document that shows clear intent.
Illinois is stricter than most states here: the two-witness rule is the whole test, and a
document that fails it fails completely.

If you have moved to Illinois from a state that allows handwritten wills — Texas, Michigan,
Virginia — the will you brought with you may no longer do anything.

Witnesses who inherit

A gift to a witness is generally void unless there are two other disinterested witnesses, or
the witness would have inherited anyway on intestacy. Use two people with nothing to gain.

Plan around the $4 million exclusion

The Illinois estate tax exclusion is well below the federal one and is not portable between
spouses. For a couple whose combined estate is in the millions — which in Chicago includes
a lot of people who do not think of themselves as wealthy — leaving everything outright to
the survivor can waste an entire exclusion. Credit shelter trust planning still matters in
Illinois long after it stopped mattering federally.

Also

• Ask for independent administration expressly in the will.
• Name an alternate executor, and review after a marriage, divorce, birth or a move.

Yes. Under 755 ILCS 5/27-1 the representative is entitled to reasonable compensation
for their services. Illinois sets no percentage and no tariff — the court assesses what is
reasonable.

What the court weighs

The size and nature of the estate, the complexity of the work, the time actually spent, the
skill the job demanded, any special expertise the representative brought, the responsibility
assumed, and the results achieved. In practice awards commonly land somewhere in the low
single-digit percentages of the estate, but that is an observation about outcomes, not a rule
you can invoke.

Keep contemporaneous time records

Because Illinois assesses reasonableness rather than applying a formula, the quality of your
records largely determines the answer. A representative who can produce a dated log of hours
and what was done is in a completely different position from one who proposes a percentage and
hopes. This matters more in Illinois than in the statutory-commission states.

How it is approved

Either all the beneficiaries agree in writing, or the circuit court allows it on the
final accounting. In an independent administration nobody is reviewing the figure as you go —
which does not mean it will not be reviewed later if an heir objects.

If the will fixes the figure

The will governs, provided the representative accepts on those terms.

Tax, and the reason many family executors waive the fee

Compensation is taxable income to the executor; an inheritance is not. Where the executor
is also a principal beneficiary, taking a fee frequently converts an untaxed inheritance into
taxable income for no net gain. Ask an accountant before deciding.

An Illinois representative is reimbursed from the estate for the reasonable expenses of
administration, separately from compensation for their time.

Normally claimable

• Funeral, burial or cremation, and a reasonable reception.
• Court filing fees, publication of the notice to creditors, certified death certificates.
• Attorney's fees for the probate proceeding, and accountant's fees for the final Form 1040,
  any Form 1041, and the Illinois estate tax return where one is due.
• Appraisals of real property, farmland, vehicles, jewellery and collections.
• Carrying costs on estate property until sale: insurance, Cook County or downstate property
  tax, utilities, security, maintenance, lawn care and snow removal.
• Condominium or homeowners' association assessments, which continue regardless.
• Cleaning, clearing, storing, moving and shipping contents.
• Travel on estate business at a reasonable rate.
• Surety bond premiums where the will did not waive bond.

Normally not claimable

• The representative's lost wages, meals near home, or personal spending — that is what
  compensation covers.
• Costs incurred for one beneficiary's convenience rather than the estate's.
• Improvements beyond preparing a property for sale as it stands.
• Anything without a receipt.

The rule that decides it

Open an estate bank account under the estate's own taxpayer identification number and run
everything through it. Illinois assesses compensation on reasonableness rather than a formula,
so the same dated log that supports your expenses also supports your fee. Keeping one document
does both jobs — and in an independent administration, it is the only record anyone will ever
have.

Most Illinois estates are administered by a family member under independent administration,
with a lawyer retained for the court steps. A corporate fiduciary or an attorney serving as
executor earns its cost in specific cases.

Consider a professional when

• The estate is near or above the $4 million Illinois exclusion. State estate tax planning,
  disclaimers and the non-portability trap all have to be handled correctly and quickly, and
  the return is not a document to improvise.
• The estate holds an operating business, farmland, or a portfolio of rental property.
  Illinois farmland brings its own valuation and family-succession questions.
• There is conflict among the beneficiaries. Note the specific Illinois consequence: a
  single objecting heir can force supervised administration, which is slower and dearer
  for everyone. A neutral professional sometimes prevents that.
• A beneficiary is a minor or disabled, so a trust runs for years and a guardian ad litem
  may be appointed.
• The named executor lives out of state and cannot readily attend a county circuit court.

What it costs

Corporate fiduciaries charge a negotiated percentage with a minimum annual fee that makes
modest estates uneconomic. Attorneys generally bill hourly for estate work. Ask for either in
writing at the outset.

Middle ground

Appoint a family member, ask for independent administration in the will, and let them
retain a probate attorney and an accountant at the estate's expense. For the large majority of
Illinois estates this is both the cheapest and the most sensible arrangement.

A named executor who does not want the job can decline before letters of office issue.
Afterwards, resigning requires the court's leave and an accounting.