Chicago Living Trust: Cook County Probate Division 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 covers Cook County. Under 755 ILCS 5/5-1 a will is probated or an estate administered "in the court of the county determined as follows: (a) In the county where he has a known place of residence", and only if there is no known residence in Illinois does the county where most of the real estate lies decide. The Cook County Clerk's deed requirements begin with "The property must be in Cook County", so a deed is recorded where the land is. The offices below are in downtown Chicago. If your Chicago mailing address lies in another county, that county's circuit clerk and recorder serve you.

The Probate Division of the Circuit Court of Cook County

The court's Decedent Estates page says: "In Cook County, the Probate Division handles all Decedent Estates cases involving the administration of both testate and intestate estates including the following: Petitions for Letters of Office; Will Contests and Petitions for Will Construction and related Testamentary Trust Contests; Claims filed against the Estate; Citations to Discover and/or Recover Assets; and Petitions to establish Heirships." The division's own page sorts its work into "three categories: Decedent Estates, Adult Guardianship Estates, Minor Estates", and notes that it "has resumed in-person operations at the Daley Center, while Zoom appearances remain permitted under certain circumstances". The court warns that "Courtroom Clerks do not have phone access" and sends administrative or procedural questions to the Probate Division Staff Attorney at (312) 603-7545.

The forms the court lists for a decedent's estate include the "Petition for Probate of Will and for Letters Testamentary", the "Petition for Letters of Administration" and an "Order Converting to Independent Administration". Independent administration is the mode described in 755 ILCS 5/28-1, which "permits an executor or administrator to administer the estate without court order or filings, except to the extent that court order or filing is required by this Article or is requested by any interested person".

The Clerk of the Circuit Court: filing a will and opening the estate

The Clerk's page says "There is no fee for filing a will" and gives three ways to do it: in person at Room 1202, by mail to the same room marked "ATTN: Probate Division", or in person at any of the Clerk's five offices. "A Will cannot be filed without a date of death. Please provide the Office a copy of the death certificate." A certified copy of a filed will costs $2.00 for the first page and $.50 for each page after that up to 25 pages, then $.25 per page, plus $2.00 per certification.

On opening an estate the Clerk's page is direct: "To open a Probate Estate, you need to hire an attorney", who "will complete the necessary court forms and electronically file them in our eFile system", and "The cost for filing is $479.00." When there is a will, "After the judge in your case enters an Order Admitting Will to Probate and Appointing Representative, the Clerk's Office will issue you Letters of Office"; without a will the order is an "Order Appointing Representative of Decedent's Estate - Intestate" and the Clerk issues "Letters of Administration". For a house in the estate the Clerk's page adds that the attorney "will submit an Order of Release for the judge to sign", and that you "Take the signed Order of Release and the Letters of Office to the Cook County Recorder of Deeds, 118 N. Clark Street", which "will change the name on the Deed". The Cook County Clerk's own pages call the office at that address the Cook County Clerk's Recordings Division; it is described below.

Probate Division Fee Schedule (CCP-0607, dated 10/01/25)

The schedule's second page is a lower table for local government and school district filers.

Small estates: the $150,000 affidavit

Under 755 ILCS 5/25-1 a small estate affidavit may be used "if: (1) no letters of office are outstanding on the decedent's estate and no petition for letters is contemplated or pending in this State or in any other jurisdiction; and (2) 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." Public Act 104-0346 wrote that text and took effect August 15, 2025; the section says the change applies "to a decedent whose date of death is on or after" that date. Public Act 104-0624, effective January 1, 2027, adds that motor homes, van campers, commercial vehicles and some other vehicles are not excluded from the count. The Cook County Clerk's recording page states the limit that matters for a house: "A Small Estate Affidavit, 755 ILCS 5/25-1, concerns personal property and is not for use with real estate." The Illinois small estate affidavit guide walks through the form.

The spouse's award

755 ILCS 5/15-1 gives the surviving spouse of an Illinois resident whose estate is administered here "a sum of money that the court deems reasonable for the proper support of the surviving spouse for the period of 9 months after the death of the decedent", plus a sum for minor children who lived with the spouse, and "The award may in no case be less than $20,000, together with an additional sum not less than $10,000 for each such child." Subsection (a-5) adds "at least $5,000" for each dependent adult child who lived with the spouse. The spouse is entitled to the award "unless the will of the decedent expressly provides that the provisions thereof for the surviving spouse are in lieu of the award and the surviving spouse does not renounce the will". The section ends "(Source: P.A. 100-478, eff. 6-1-18.)", so it has not changed since 2018.

Recording a deed with the Cook County Clerk's Recordings Division

The Clerk says "The Cook County Clerk's Recordings Division accurately records, stores and maintains land records and other official documents", and that its fees are "Established by state and county ordinances." Funding a living trust with a Chicago home means recording a deed from the owner to the owner as trustee here, and the Clerk's topics page quotes 765 ILCS 5/30: deeds "shall take effect and be in force from and after the time of filing the same for record, and not before, as to all creditors and subsequent purchasers, without notice". The office does not give legal advice; on trusts its answer is "please consult your trust, trustee and/or private lawyer".

Recording fees (schedule in effect since April 1, 2024)

The Clerk explains that "pursuant to State law, the Office will no longer price any documents as 'non-standard' or 'standard'"; nearly every recording falls into one of seven document classes, and "If your document is irregularly formatted or pertains to 6 or more PINS or previously recorded document numbers, it will be priced as an Irregular or Blanket Recording." The breakdown: "any document priced at $107 or more includes: $55 county recording fee, $23 GIS fee, $10 Document Storage Fee, $18 State Rental Housing Support Fee, and $1 non-government filer fee. Fees are set by state statute and county ordinance." The state law behind that is 55 ILCS 5/3-5018.2, which requires a single "predictable fee schedule" by document class that is "inclusive of all county and State fees", with a deed fee of "not less than $31". The Clerk adds that "we are unable to give recording fee 'quotes' over the phone" because the fee can change when the document is inspected.

What a deed must contain

The Clerk's deed requirements: "The property must be in Cook County", the document must be related to real estate, include a "mail to" name and address and a "prepared by" name and address, the common address, the Property Index Number (PIN) and the legal description of the property, and be "legible at minimum 10 size font". A deed also needs the grantor's and grantee's names and addresses, a "Mail Tax Bill to" name and address, a "Grantor/ Grantee Affidavit if deed is an exempt transaction", a "completed MyDEC (State/County Tax Stamp)", the "Municipality real estate transfer tax", and, where it applies, exemption language in this form: "Exempt under Real Estate Transfer Law Tax 35 ILCS 200/31-45 sub par ___ and Cook County Ord. 93-O-27 par __ Signature___ Date___". The FAQ repeats that any deed must have "City/State/County transfer tax declarations and stamps or transfer tax exemptions (check with the local city/village where the property sits for requirements" and a "Name and address for future tax bill mailings". Paper must follow the standard format (8.5 by 11 inch sheets, black ink, a blank 3 by 5 inch space in the upper right corner of the first page, half inch margins, nothing stapled to a page); "Any non-compliant form will be charged double the recording fee." A recording may affect "no more than ten properties", and "as of February 2017, re-recording of instruments are no longer accepted", so an error is fixed with a new deed, a scrivener's affidavit or a corrective recording affidavit.

The transfer declaration and three transfer taxes

Illinois law requires a declaration with every deed or trust document presented for recording. 35 ILCS 200/31-25 says a declaration "signed by at least one of the sellers and also signed by at least one of the buyers in the transaction or by the attorneys or agents for the sellers or buyers" must be presented with the deed or within 3 business days of the transfer, and that "Except as provided in Section 31-45, a deed ... or trust document shall not be accepted for recordation unless it is accompanied by a declaration containing all the information requested in the declaration." In Cook County that declaration is made in MyDec, the Illinois Department of Revenue's electronic system; the Department's help line is 844 445-1114, Monday through Friday 8 am to 4:30 pm. Section 31-45 lists the deeds exempt from the tax, among them "(e) Deeds or trust documents where the actual consideration is less than $100" and "(d) Deeds or trust documents that, without additional consideration, confirm, correct, modify, or supplement a deed or trust document previously recorded"; the Clerk's example exemption language above cites that section.

The Clerk's transfer fee page explains that "In Illinois, transfer taxes are applied at the state, county, and sometimes municipal levels", lists the state tax at .50 per $500.00 and the county tax at .25 per $500.00, both enacted January 1, 1968 and both charged to the seller, and notes that "Transfer tax amounts vary by municipalities." The City of Chicago's page says its tax "is imposed upon the privilege of transferring title to, or beneficial interest in, real property located in the city" at $3.75 per $500.00, plus a supplemental $1.50 per $500.00 "for the purpose of providing financial assistance to the Chicago Transit Authority" on transfers since April 1, 2008. The city lists its exemptions, including "Transfers for less than $500" and "Transfers without additional consideration to correct, modify, confirm, or supplement a deed previously recorded", and says "No transfer is exempt unless declaration describes the facts supporting the exemption along with supporting documentation. See Section 3-33-060 for exact terms, which control." The city page does not mention a transfer to a living trust by name, so this page does not say whether the Chicago tax is due on a trust deed; that is a question for the Department of Finance or an attorney before the deed is recorded.

In person, by mail or e-recording

The Clerk's FAQ says a quit claim deed can be recorded "either in person or by mail". On e-recording it is candid: "If you only have one document to record, it will likely be easier for you to record it in person, as our process requires the use of multiple software applications and an account with a third-party submitter." The submitters configured with the office are Simplifile, CSC, ePN (E-Recording Partners Network) and Hopdox, and "At this time, only title companies may e-record deeds/conveyances with consideration; e-recording of fully Exempt Deeds and non-conveyance documents like Mortgages, Assignments, and Releases, is open to any entity that complies with basic recording requirements, and e-recording requirements." A submitter of deeds with tax due must be "pre-cleared by the City of Chicago and Cook County" to authorize stamps, and on acceptance "the Clerk's Office will electronically affix the transfer stamp information in the blank space reserved for our use".

What a living trust changes for a Chicago homeowner

With a will alone, or no will, a Chicago home in the owner's own name is part of the estate the Probate Division administers: the $479.00 petition, the hearing, the letters of office, and, as the Clerk's page describes, an Order of Release carried to 118 N. Clark Street so the name on the deed can be changed. The small estate affidavit cannot shorten that for a house, because the Clerk's recording page says it "is not for use with real estate", and the Clerk's topics page lists the routes for "Property titled only in a deceased owner's name" as "probate, miscellaneous probate, title insurance in lieu of probate, heirship affidavit, heirship deed". The Illinois probate process guide describes those steps.

A home deeded to the trustee of a living trust while the owner is alive is not titled in a deceased owner's name at death; the successor trustee already holds it under the trust's terms. The one step that makes this work is the $107 deed recorded in Room 120 with its MyDec declaration and stamps or exemption language, and the Clerk's quoted statute makes the deed effective against creditors and purchasers "from and after the time of filing the same for record". The Illinois Complete Estate Plan includes the living trust, a pour-over will for anything left outside it, and funding instructions for the deed.