Aurora, Illinois Living Trust: Kane County Circuit Clerk Probate and Deed Recording

By Rozsa Gyene, California estate planning attorney, State Bar of California #208356. Published October 4, 2026. Last reviewed October 4, 2026.

Which county this page covers

This page is filed under Kane County and describes the Kane County offices in full, because that is where this site's Illinois city list places Aurora; the other three counties are named below with their official pages. The City of Aurora's About Our City page has a section headed "Four Counties Within The City" that lists "DuPage County", "Kane County", "Kendall County" and "Will County", each linked to the county's website, and calls Aurora "the second largest city in the state". Kane County's own list of communities includes "Aurora, City of" among its cities and villages and "Aurora" among its townships. Two rules decide which county's offices you use. Probate: 755 ILCS 5/5-1 puts the probate or administration "in the court of the county determined as follows: (a) In the county where he has a known place of residence". Recording: a deed goes to the recorder of the county where the property lies, which is why the DuPage County Recorder, for one, offers e-recording only "for property located in DuPage County". If your Aurora address is in DuPage, Kendall or Will County, use that county's circuit clerk and recorder, not the Kane offices. The Kendall County offices are in Yorkville; their addresses, phones and hours are below.

The four counties at a glance

Kane County probate: the 16th Judicial Circuit and the Circuit Clerk

Kane County's courts form the Sixteenth Judicial Circuit; the circuit's site lists its buildings, the Kane County Courthouse at 100 S. Third Street in Geneva, the Kane County Judicial Center at 37W777 Route 38 in St. Charles, and the Aurora Branch Court at 1200 East Indian Trail Road in Aurora among them, and links to the Circuit Clerk at cic.countyofkane.org. The clerk's site says: "The Circuit Clerk is a constitutional officer who is elected, every four years, by the voters of Kane County. ... By law, the Circuit Clerk's primary function is to establish, maintain, and keep all records of court and the court seal." The office "Provides customer service for the public, bench and bar at the Circuit Clerk main office and at the 2 satellite offices", and its contact page lists "Probate (PR)" among the civil case types.

Kane County fee schedule, effective 9/1/2026

Ask the Kane County Circuit Clerk how a will is deposited and whether a petition may be filed on paper; the Illinois probate process guide covers the statewide procedure.

Small estates and the spouse's award

An estate made up of personal property can often skip the filing fee. 755 ILCS 5/25-1 lets a person, corporation or financial institution "indebted to or holding personal estate of a decedent" pay or deliver it on a small estate affidavit when no letters of office are outstanding or sought and the personal estate, "excluding motor vehicles registered with the Secretary of State", is "tangible and intangible personal property not exceeding $150,000". That figure comes from Public Act 104-0346, effective August 15, 2025, which the section applies to "a decedent whose date of death is on or after" its effective date; Public Act 104-0624, effective January 1, 2027, will stop motor homes, van campers, commercial vehicles and some other vehicles from being excluded from the count. The affidavit form itself states the spouse's award, "$20,000, plus $10,000 multiplied by the number of minor children and adult dependent children who resided with the surviving spouse". The form's figure for adult dependent children differs from section 15-1(a-5), which sets at least $5,000 for each dependent adult child who lived with the spouse, and the court sets the actual award. That award comes from 755 ILCS 5/15-1: a court-set sum for the spouse's support "for the period of 9 months after the death of the decedent", never "less than $20,000, together with an additional sum not less than $10,000 for each such child", at least $5,000 for each dependent adult child who lived with the spouse, payable in up to 3 installments, and owed unless the will says its gifts are "in lieu of the award and the surviving spouse does not renounce the will". Section 15-1's source line is "(Source: P.A. 100-478, eff. 6-1-18.)". See the Illinois spouse's rights guide.

Recording a deed with the Kane County Recorder

The Recorder "receives original property instruments and is responsible for recording these important documents in the county's permanent archive of land titles and ownership records." Its price list, effective for documents presented for recording on or after October 1st, 2024, is the predictable schedule Illinois requires of a county recorder under 55 ILCS 5/3-5018.2, a single fee by document class "inclusive of all county and State fees". The Recorder's news item explains the last change: Kane County Board Resolution 24-362 raised the GIS portion from $26 to $48, so "Effective October 1, 2024, the cost to record a standard document will be $99." (The Recorder's page cites 55 ILCS 5/3-5018 for that resolution; on ilga.gov that section now reads "(Repealed)", and the fee schedule rule is in section 3-5018.2.)

A conforming document, in the Recorder's words, follows the 1995 standardization law: "(1) The document shall consist of one or more individual sheets measuring 8.5 inches by 11 inches, not permanently bound and not a continuous form. ... (2) The document shall be legibly printed in black ink, by hand, type, or computer. ... (3) The document shall be on white paper of not less than 20-pound weight and shall have a clean margin of at least one-half inch on the top, the bottom, and each side. ... (4) The first page of the document shall contain a blank space, measuring at least 3 inches by 5 inches, from the upper right corner. (5) The document shall not have any attachment stapled or otherwise affixed to any page." Documents that do not comply "will require additional recording fees". Kane County also accepts e-recording through Corporation Service Company, Simplifile and Hopdox, though "We currently do not accept plats for electronic recording."

The transfer declaration and the City of Aurora stamp

Illinois requires a transfer declaration with the deed. 35 ILCS 200/31-25 says that when "a deed ... or trust document is presented for recordation" a declaration signed by a seller and a buyer or their attorneys or agents must be presented too, and that, except for the exemptions in section 31-45, the deed or trust document "shall not be accepted for recordation unless it is accompanied by a declaration". The Kane County Recorder "electronically processes Property Transactions (PTAX-203 forms) through MyDec", which it describes as "a new electronic system that handles Real Property Transfer Tax transactions through the Illinois Department of Revenue"; the Department's MyDec help line is 844 445-1114, Monday through Friday 8 am to 4:30 pm. Section 31-45 exempts, among others, "(e) Deeds or trust documents where the actual consideration is less than $100".

The City of Aurora adds its own stamp. The city's Real Estate Transfer Tax page says the tax "is imposed on the full actual consideration (sale price) as is defined and set forth in the State of Illinois Real Estate Transfer Tax Law (35 ILCS 200/31)" and that "The stamp must be affixed to the deed when the title is recorded." The page does not print the rate, so no rate is given here. "When purchasing the stamp: we require a copy of the State of Illinois MyDec and the Real Estate Transfer Tax Declaration forms along with your payment", and for a quit claim deed with no consideration "a copy of the deed and the declaration form are needed along with payment". Exempt transactions "include, but are not limited to, sales or transfers of title where there is consideration of less than $100, sales of property by government entities, and federally determined tax exempt organizations", and the City Council set "an administrative processing fee of thirty ($30.00) dollars for all 'exempt' real estate transfer stamp transactions". Before any stamp, "A 'Statement of Open Accounts' must be obtained before a municipal real estate transfer tax stamp- including an exempt stamp- can be issued", requested at least 5 business days before closing. The office is at 44 East Downer Place, Aurora, Illinois 60507-2067, Monday to Friday 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., transfer tax line 630-256-3570, email transferstamps@aurora.il.us. The Will County Recorder's FAQ lists Aurora first among the municipalities whose stamps must be bought "prior to recording", with the city's number (630) 844-3613. The city page does not say whether a deed to the owner's own living trust is taxed or exempt, so ask the city before you record.

The other three counties

DuPage County

The DuPage County Circuit Court Clerk, a constitutional officer of the 18th Judicial Circuit, is at 505 N. County Farm Road, Wheaton, Illinois 60187-0707, Civil Department (630) 407-8700, "open to the public from 8:00 A.M. to 4:30 P.M. Monday through Friday, except on Court Holidays", and "Court cases are heard at the DuPage County Courthouse, 505 N County Farm Road Wheaton." The DuPage County Recorder "maintains the permanent public records that document the ownership and transfer of real estate throughout DuPage County", from the Jack T. Knuepfer Administration Building, First Floor 1-400, 421 N. County Farm Road, Wheaton, Illinois 60187, phone 630-407-5400, county hours 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Monday to Friday. Its fee schedule lists "Deeds (Document Class 1)" at $86.00 and "Nonstandard Documents (Document Class 5)" at $112.00, sends every question about transfer declarations to the Illinois Department of Revenue's MyDec help at 844-445-1114, and offers eRecording of deeds "for property located in DuPage County" through CSC, EPN, Hopdox, Indecomm and Simplifile. The Naperville page describes the DuPage offices in full.

Kendall County

The Kendall County Circuit Clerk is at 807 W. John Street, Yorkville, Illinois 60560, phone 630-553-4183, open Monday through Friday 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. The clerk's page says that all electronic filing is done through eFileIL and that filings sent by email "will be rejected per Supreme Court Rules". The Kendall County Recorder is at 502 S. Main Street, Yorkville, Illinois 60560, phone 630-553-4112, open Monday through Friday 8:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.; the Recorder "records all land transaction documents including liens, mortgages and deeds", its research area "is open each weekday from 8:00 am to 4:00 pm", it stops recording documents at 4:00 p.m., and it processes transfer tax declarations through MyDec. Both offices post their fee schedules on kendallcountyil.gov.

Will County

The Will County Circuit Court Clerk is at the Will County Court House, 100 W. Jefferson Street, Joliet, IL 60432, phone (815) 727-8592, "open to the public from 8:30 A.M. to 4:30 P.M. Monday through Friday, except on Court Holidays"; its fee schedule effective 07/12/2026 lists a Probate filing at $314.00. The Will County Recorder of Deeds is at 158 N. Scott Street, Joliet, IL 60432-4143, phone (815) 740-4637, Monday to Friday 8:30 AM to 4:30 PM, and its schedule effective October 1, 2025 records a standard document for $90.00. The Joliet page describes both Will County offices in full.

What a living trust changes for an Aurora homeowner

Whichever of the four counties you live in, a home in your own name at death is administered by that county's circuit court: the $314.00 petition in Kane or Will County, letters of office at $2.00 each, claims, and an order before the house can pass. The small estate affidavit reaches only personal property, so it does not move a house. A home deeded to the trustee of a living trust during the owner's life is outside that estate; the successor trustee already holds title under the trust. The step that does the work is the recorded deed: $99.00 at the Kane County Recorder in Geneva (or $86.00 in DuPage, $90.00 in Will), on conforming paper, with the MyDec declaration and the City of Aurora stamp or exempt stamp already affixed. The Illinois Complete Estate Plan includes the living trust, a pour-over will for anything left outside it, and funding instructions for the deed.