Naperville Living Trust: DuPage County Circuit Court Clerk, Will County Circuit Clerk 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 both DuPage County and Will County, because the two counties' own recording offices each treat Naperville as theirs. The DuPage County Recorder's Townships and Municipal Transfer Stamps page lists "City of Naperville" in its table of DuPage County municipal transfer stamps ($3.00 per $1,000, exemption stamp "No Charge", 630-420-6059) and places "Naperville, City" in the Lisle, Milton, Naperville and Winfield townships. The Will County Recorder of Deeds' Recording Guidelines list "Municipal Transfer Tax Stamps (Aurora, Bolingbrook, Channahon, Joliet, Naperville, Park Forest, Romeoville, University Park, Woodridge)" among the items a deed needs, and its FAQs page answers "Which cities in Will County require Municipal Transfer Stamps to be purchased before recording?" with a list that includes Naperville. The City of Naperville's own Townships page says there are "six townships that cover portions of the City of Naperville" and draws the line: Naperville Township is "residents of DuPage County who are north of 87th Street and west of Washington Street", Lisle Township "residents of DuPage County north of 87th Street and east of Washington Street", Wheatland Township "residents of Will County west of Washington Street" and DuPage Township "residents of Will County east of Washington Street", with Winfield Township covering "a small portion of far northwest Naperville" and Milton Township "a small number of properties on the northeast side". Your property tax bill or your deed names the county, which tells you which set of offices applies to you.

The rule for probate is the same in both counties. Under 755 ILCS 5/5-1, when an estate is administered in Illinois "the probate or the administration shall be in the court of the county determined as follows: (a) In the county where he has a known place of residence". A deed is recorded with the recorder of the county where the land lies.

The two counties at a glance

DuPage County: the Circuit Court Clerk in Wheaton

The clerk's site describes the Circuit Clerk as "a constitutional officer who is elected every four years by the voters of DuPage County" whose "primary function is to establish, maintain and keep all records of court and the court seal." On the day this page was written the site carried a banner reading "Attention ! This is Test site", so the address, hours and phone above were checked against the 18th Judicial Circuit Court's contact page on dupagecourts.gov, which lists the Clerk of the Circuit Court at 505 N. County Farm Road, Wheaton, IL 60187, 630-407-8700. The court's Divisions page lists Law, Chancery, Domestic Relations, Misdemeanor and Traffic, and Felony; no separate probate division page was found on the court's site, and on the clerk's fee schedule a decedent's estate is simply the "PR" case category.

Fees on the DuPage schedule

The DuPage County Clerk of the Circuit Court fee schedule, "Fees Effective September 11, 2026" (the file is marked "DuPage County Filing Fee Book, revised 8/11/2026"), lists under its probate (PR) heading:

DuPage County: recording a deed with the Recorder

The Recorder's FAQs page answers "What do I need to record a deed?" with this list: a completed deed; "PTAX Form(s) and/or Exemption Statement"; municipal transfer stamps, if applicable; a metes and bounds affidavit, if applicable; the grantee and taxpayer's name and address; the property address; the permanent parcel number "(commonly found on real estate tax bill)"; the property legal description; and the preparer's name and address. It adds: "Deed forms are not available from the Recorder's Office and cannot be completed by employees of the Recorder's Office", "If you require help completing the form, you need to seek the assistance of an attorney. The Recorder's Office does not provide legal advice." An incomplete document is returned to the submitter; a recorded original "is mailed back to the name and address provided, or if eRecorded, electronically returned to the submitter."

The schedule explains that "The recording fees above include the following fees: Recording, Document Storage System ($10), Geographic Information System ($31), Real Property ($1), and Rental Housing Support Program ($18)", and that "Payment is required at the time of recording" by Visa, MasterCard, Discover or UnionPay (a 2.75 percent convenience fee on transactions of $60.00 and above, $2.00 below that), by check or money order payable to "DuPage County Recorder" (no starter checks), or cash. A document is nonstandard, and costs $112.00, if it is not on 8.5 by 11 inch white paper of at least 20-pound weight, legibly printed in black ink, with a clean half inch margin on all sides, a blank 3 inch by 5 inch space in the upper right corner of the first page, nothing stapled to it, and no more than 5 parcel or document numbers. The statute behind this, 55 ILCS 5/3-5018.2, requires first and second class counties to adopt "a predictable fee schedule" by document class, with a deed fee of "not less than $31 (being a minimum $13 county fee plus $18 for the Rental Housing Support Program State surcharge)"; its source line reads "(Source: P.A. 103-400, eff. 1-1-24; 103-884, eff. 1-1-25.)". The older fee section, 55 ILCS 5/3-5018, was repealed effective January 1, 2024.

Transfer declaration and the Naperville stamp

Illinois imposes a tax "on the privilege of transferring title to real estate located in Illinois ... at the rate of 50¢ for each $500 of value or fraction of $500 stated in the declaration required by Section 31-25" (35 ILCS 200/31-10). Under 35 ILCS 200/31-25, when "a deed ... or trust document is presented for recordation" a declaration "signed by at least one of the sellers and also signed by at least one of the buyers" must be presented too, and "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", except as provided in Section 31-45. The DuPage Recorder reproduces the Section 31-45 exemption list on its fee page, including "Deeds or trust documents where the actual consideration is less than $100", and notes that deeds exempt under paragraphs B, K or M still require a PTAX-203. It has accepted the PTAX-203 completed through the Department of Revenue's MyDec system since January 14, 2015, and refers declaration questions to the Department at 844-445-1114. The City of Naperville stamp is listed at $3.00 per $1,000 with an exemption stamp at no charge; the Recorder says municipal fees "are subject to change without notice to the Recorder's Office. Please contact the city/village for Municipal Transfer Stamps." Whether a deed to the trustee of your own revocable trust is exempt is a question for the declaration and the Department, not something the county pages decide.

Will County: the Circuit Clerk and the Recorder of Deeds in Joliet

The Will County clerk's Probate page says the PR case type "includes the following: Administration of Decedent's Estate, Administration of a Missing Person's Estate, Wrongful Death/Collection of Judgment." Its probate FAQs say there is no fee to file a will, that an original will can be filed by mail ("Please make copies of the Will for yourself before mailing the original") with the date of death, that "new estate cases must be filed electronically", and that opening an estate takes "The original petition and the fee." On the Clerk of the Circuit Court of Will County Fee Schedule, "Effective: 07/12/2026, Updated: 09/03/2026", a Probate new case filing is $314.00, the appearance fee for a $314.00 case is $244.00 (no fee for an appearance "for purposes of consent, for successor administrator/executor"), certified letters of office are $2.00 each, filing a will is $0.00, and estate claims run from no fee under $150.00 to $60.00 at $10,000.00 or more.

The Will County Recorder's Fees page, citing 55 ILCS 5/3-5018.2, charges $90.00 for most documents that are real estate related and were signed or executed after July 31, 2005 and meet the standard format (8.5 by 11 inch white paper, black ink, a 3 inch by 5 inch blank space in the upper right corner, half inch clear margins, nothing stapled, up to five parcel numbers), $118.00 for a nonstandard real estate document, and $42.00 for a certified copy. Its Recording Guidelines say a deed needs a "Prepared By Name & Mailing Address", a return name and address, the permanent index number, a legal description (with a notarized metes and bounds affidavit for non-subdivision descriptions), notarization, the grantee's name and address, a "Tax Bill To" name and address, the property address, municipal transfer tax stamps where the municipality requires them (Naperville is on the list), a "Real Estate Transfer Tax Declaration or Exemption Properly Completed", and that the deed "Must Be Original, Not Copy". The office's FAQs say it "is not permitted to complete forms, help customers fill out forms, or to check forms to make sure the result is what the customer intended."

Small estates and the spouse's award

Under 755 ILCS 5/25-1 a bank, transfer agent or safe deposit box holder "furnished with a small estate affidavit in substantially the form hereinafter set forth" must pay or deliver the property as the affidavit directs. The affidavit may be used when "no letters of office are outstanding on the decedent's estate and no petition for letters is contemplated or pending" and the personal estate passing by will or intestacy is limited to, "excluding motor vehicles registered with the Secretary of State, tangible and intangible personal property not exceeding $150,000" plus those registered vehicles. The section's source line reads "(Source: P.A. 104-346, eff. 8-15-25; 104-624, eff. 1-1-27.)": Public Act 104-0346 set the $150,000 figure, effective August 15, 2025, and the text "after amendment by P.A. 104-624" adds that motor vehicles used as living quarters, motor homes, van campers, non-self-propelled vehicles, commercial vehicles, implements of husbandry and buses or commuter vans are not treated as excluded vehicles for a decedent dying on or after January 1, 2027. Real estate is not collected by the affidavit. The Illinois small estate affidavit guide walks through the form.

The spouse's award under 755 ILCS 5/15-1 gives a 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", which "may in no case be less than $20,000, together with an additional sum not less than $10,000 for each" minor child who lived with the spouse; subsection (a-5) adds at least $5,000 for each adult dependent child. 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." Source line: "(Source: P.A. 100-478, eff. 6-1-18.)". Where an estate is opened, the independent administration article (755 ILCS 5/28-1) "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"; source "(Source: P.A. 83-900.)".

What a living trust changes for a Naperville homeowner

The $300.00 or $314.00 case the clerk opens, the letters of office, the claims period and the spouse's award all attach to property the person still owned in his or her own name. A Naperville home conveyed during life to the trustee of a revocable living trust is held under the trust instrument, so at death the successor trustee deals with it without a PR case in Wheaton or Joliet. The step that does this is one recorded deed: in DuPage County, $86.00 at the Recorder in the Knuepfer building with the transfer declaration or exemption statement and the Naperville stamp; in Will County, $90.00 at the Recorder of Deeds on Scott Street with the same declaration and stamp. Whatever is left outside the trust follows the steps in the Illinois probate process guide.