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
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 October 3, 2026.
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)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
Every link is probed before each 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
- 755 ILCS 5/25-1 — 755 ILCS 5/25-1 - Small estate affidavit
- 755 ILCS 5/27-1 — 755 ILCS 5/27-1 - Fees of representative
- 755 ILCS 5/18-3 — 755 ILCS 5/18-3 - Notice - Publication
- 755 ILCS 5/18-12 — 755 ILCS 5/18-12 - Limitations on payment of claims
Every quotation, edition label and machine check is on the Illinois source record.
Illinois record: 4/4 verified, 13 matched checks, latest source re-fetch October 3, 2026. Source record · method · report a correction