Illinois executor fees

Illinois sets no rate, but it does name people who may not be paid at all

755 ILCS 5/27-1 opens with the familiar standard — "A representative is entitled to reasonable compensation for his services" — and then spends the rest of the section on exclusions rather than on amounts.

No fees, charges or other compensation may be allowed a public administrator "for services performed in administering that part of the estate of any United States war veteran which consists of compensation, insurance or other monies due or payable from the United States because of the veteran’s war service." The same section bars compensation to an employee of the Department of Human Services or the Department of Children and Family Services designated under paragraph (b) of Section 11-3 who serves as guardian of the estate of a patient or resident in a State facility.

Where a fee is allowed, its rank is fixed: "Fees awarded under this Section shall be considered as a first-class claim for administrative expenses and paid from the guardianship estate or from the probate estate pursuant to Section 18-10." That is what makes an Illinois representative’s fee collectable ahead of ordinary creditors when the estate is short.

The attorney’s fee is a separate entitlement under 755 ILCS 5/27-2, with its own deadline: an attorney who withdraws "must file a petition for fees and costs within 30 days after the withdrawal is approved by the court." The section was last touched by P.A. 102-72, effective January 1, 2022.

Source: 755 ILCS 5/27-1, read from the enacting state’s own published code on 2026-09-17. Quoted wording is the statute’s; the surrounding explanation is this site’s reading of it and is not legal advice.