Illinois Probate Process: Letters of Office, Independent Administration, Claims and Closing the Estate

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

This guide walks through the Illinois Probate Act of 1975, 755 ILCS 5, from the day the will is filed to the order closing the estate, and cites each rule to its section. The statute pages on the General Assembly's site, the Illinois Courts' description of the circuit court and the Cook County court and clerk pages were read on October 4, 2026, and each section was checked for 2025 and 2026 amendments. It describes Illinois law in general terms and is not advice about any particular estate.

The court: the circuit court of the county

Probate cases are heard in the circuit court of the county. The Illinois Courts' site explains that the circuit court is the court of original jurisdiction, that there are 25 judicial circuits, of which seven are single county circuits (Cook, DuPage, Kane, Lake, McHenry, St. Clair and Will) and the other eighteen cover from two to twelve counties each, and that the chief judge of a circuit can assign cases to general or specialized divisions. In each county the voters elect a circuit clerk who preserves the court files and keeps the records of every case. In Cook County, the court's decedent estates page says the Probate Division handles all decedent estate cases, testate and intestate, including petitions for letters of office, will contests and petitions for will construction, claims filed against the estate, citations to discover or recover assets and petitions to establish heirship, and lists five decedent estate courtrooms. The Chicago page describes the Cook County offices.

Where the estate is opened

When a will is probated or an estate is administered in Illinois, the case belongs in the court of the county where the decedent had a known place of residence; if there was no known residence in Illinois, in the county where the greater part of the real estate was located at death; and if there was neither, in the county where the greater part of the personal estate was located (section 5-1).

Step 1: filing the will with the clerk

Immediately upon the death, any person who has the testator's will in his possession must file it with the clerk of the court of the proper county, and the court may compel its production (section 6-1(a)). Wilfully altering or destroying a will, or wilfully secreting it for 30 days after learning of the death, is punished as a Class 3 felony (section 6-1(b)). Filing the will is not the same as opening an estate: the Cook County clerk's page says there is no fee for filing a will, that a will cannot be filed without a date of death, that the office asks for a copy of the death certificate, and that it may be filed in person at the Daley Center, Room 1202, by mail to the Probate Division, or at any of the clerk's five offices. Original wills admitted to probate stay in the clerk's custody unless the court orders otherwise (section 6-7).

Step 2: the petition and proof of the will

Within 30 days after learning that he is named executor, the person must either start a proceeding to admit the will to probate or declare his refusal to act; otherwise, absent good cause, the court may deny him the right to act (section 6-3(a)). If 30 days pass after the death with no petition, the court may proceed to probate the will on its own, unless probate is unnecessary and no interested person would be prejudiced (section 6-3(b)). Even before letters issue, the named executor's power extends to the burial, the payment of necessary funeral charges and the preservation of the estate (section 6-14).

The petition to admit the will states, if known, the testator's name and residence at death, the date and place of death, the date of the will and the petitioner's belief that it is the valid last will, the approximate value of the real and personal estate in Illinois, the names and post office addresses of all heirs and legatees and whether any is a minor or a person with a disability, and the name and address of the executor (section 6-2). The will is sufficiently proved when each of the two attesting witnesses states that he saw the testator sign or heard the testator acknowledge the will, that he attested it in the testator's presence, and that he believed the testator to be of sound mind and memory; those statements may be made by testimony in court, by an attestation clause the witnesses signed as part of the will, or by an affidavit signed at or after attestation and attached to the will or an accurate facsimile (section 6-4). The will signing guide covers the two witness rule of section 4-3 and the attestation language that lets the will be admitted on paper.

Two clocks start when the will is admitted. Any heir or legatee entitled to notice may, within 42 days after the order admitting the will, petition to require formal proof of the will, at which the proponent must produce the witnesses' testimony rather than the attestation clause or affidavits (section 6-21). Any interested person may petition to contest the validity of the will within 6 months after its admission to probate, and the representative has the duty to defend (section 8-1(a) and (e)). A suit to set aside a revocable living trust that receives a legacy under the admitted will must be brought within the same 6 months (section 8-1(f)).

Who receives letters of office

When the will is admitted, letters testamentary issue to the executor named in the will if he qualifies and accepts the office (section 6-8). Section 6-13, as amended by Public Act 104-0123 effective January 1, 2026, sets the qualifications: a person who has attained the age of 18 years, is a resident of the United States, is not of unsound mind, is not an adjudged person with a disability, is not currently incarcerated in State or federal prison, and has not been convicted of a felony. A person with a felony conviction may still serve if the testator named that person and expressly acknowledged the conviction in the will, the person is not prohibited by law from receiving a share of the estate, and the person was not previously convicted of financial exploitation of an elderly person or a person with a disability, financial identity theft or a similar crime (section 6-13(c)). When the court appoints co-executors, the letters must name each of them (section 6-13(b)). The executor or administrator with the will annexed administers all the testate and intestate estate of the decedent (section 6-15(a)), and the same section, also amended by Public Act 104-0123, protects a bank or other person who confirms by examining the letters that they were issued solely to the executor or administrator, and lets that person refuse a transaction when co-representatives give conflicting directions until a court decides (section 6-15(b) and (c)).

When there is no will, or the named executor does not qualify, letters of administration go in the order of preference in section 9-3, as amended by Public Act 104-0123: the surviving spouse or the spouse's nominee; the legatees or their nominee, with preference to legatees who are children; the children; the grandchildren; the parents; the brothers and sisters; the nearest kindred; the representative of the estate of a deceased ward; the Public Administrator; and a creditor of the estate. Only a person qualified to act as administrator may nominate, and letters naming co-administrators must name each of them (section 9-3). An administrator must be 18, a United States resident, not of unsound mind, not an adjudged person with a disability and never convicted of a felony (section 9-1). The petition for letters of administration states the decedent's residence, the date and place of death, the approximate value of the estate, the heirs and their addresses, who is entitled to administer or nominate equally with or ahead of the petitioner, and the nominee's name (section 9-4). The petitioner mails the petition, endorsed with the hearing date, at least 30 days before the hearing to each person named in it with an equal or better right to administer (section 9-5(a)).

Step 3: the oath and bond

Before undertaking the duties, every individual representative takes and files an oath or affirmation to faithfully discharge the duties of the office according to law and files a bond approved by the court (section 12-2(a)). No security is required of a person the will excuses from giving bond or security, unless the court has cause to suspect fraud or incompetence or believes the estate will not be sufficient to pay all claims (section 12-4(a)); where the will excuses security, the bond is in force without a writing unless the court requires a written bond (section 12-2(b)). The court may in its discretion require a nonresident executor to furnish a bond with surety notwithstanding any contrary provision of the will (section 6-13(d)). Corporations qualified to administer trusts in Illinois file an acceptance of office instead of a bond (section 12-1).

Step 4: notice to heirs and legatees

Not more than 14 days after the order admitting the will or appointing a representative, the representative mails a copy of the petition and of the order to each heir and legatee whose name and address are in the petition; where a name or address is unknown, the representative publishes a notice once a week for 3 successive weeks in a newspaper in the county, the first publication within 14 days of the order. The mailed or published notice must include an explanation, in a form prescribed by Supreme Court rule, of the rights to require formal proof of the will under section 6-21 and to contest the will under section 8-1, and proof of mailing and publication is filed with the clerk (section 6-10). In an intestate estate the administrator mails the petition and order within 14 days to each heir who was not already entitled to notice of the hearing, and publishes in the same way for heirs whose names or addresses are unknown (section 9-5(b)). Either notice may be combined with the creditors' notice under section 18-3.

Independent or supervised administration

Article XXVIII of the Probate Act permits an executor or administrator to administer the estate without court order or filings, except where the Article requires one or an interested person requests one (section 28-1). Unless the will expressly forbids independent administration or an interested person objects, the court grants it when it appoints a representative on a petition that does not request supervised administration; where an heir or legatee is a minor or a person with a disability whose interests are not otherwise represented, the court may require supervised administration or set conditions (section 28-2(a)). If an interested person objects, the court requires supervised administration, except that where the will directs independent administration the court requires supervision only for good cause, and where the objector is a creditor or a non-residuary legatee only if necessary to protect that objector (section 28-2(b)). The order and the letters state that the representative is appointed as independent executor or independent administrator, and the notice mailed to heirs and legatees includes an explanation of their rights under the Article and the form of petition to terminate independent administration (section 28-2(a)). Any interested person may later petition to terminate independent administration, subject to the same two exceptions (section 28-4).

An independent representative acting reasonably for the best interests of the estate may, without court order: lease, sell, mortgage or pledge the personal estate; borrow money; settle claims and pay claims against the estate in the order the Act sets; perform the decedent's contracts; employ agents, accountants and counsel; take possession of, lease, sell or mortgage the decedent's real estate, except that real estate specifically bequeathed may not be leased, sold or mortgaged without the legatee's written consent; and confirm an heir's or legatee's title to real estate by recording and delivering an instrument releasing the estate's interest (section 28-8). No one dealing with an independent representative is obliged to inquire into the representative's powers or to see to the application of money or property paid over (section 28-9).

Step 5: the inventory

In supervised administration the representative files in the court, within 60 days after the issuance of letters, a verified inventory of the real and personal estate that has come to his knowledge and of any cause of action on which he has a right to sue, and a supplemental inventory within 60 days after learning of more property; the inventory describes the real estate with its improvements and encumbrances, states the money on hand and lists all personal estate (section 14-1). An independent representative need not file the inventory with the court; instead he mails or delivers a copy to each interested person at least 30 days before filing the closing report, gives a copy to any interested person who asks in writing, and, within 90 days after letters issue, sends a copy to the surety on the bond by certified mail (section 28-6).

Step 6: notice to creditors and the claims bar

The representative must publish a notice once each week for 3 successive weeks in a newspaper published in the county where the estate is being administered, and mail or deliver the notice to each creditor whose name and address are known or reasonably ascertainable. The notice states the death, the representative's and attorney's names and addresses, and a date by which claims may be filed, which must be not less than 6 months from the first publication or 3 months from the mailing or delivery, whichever is later, and says that any claim not filed by that date is barred; proof of publication is filed with the clerk (section 18-3). A claim, whether based on contract, tort, statutory custodial claim or otherwise, may be filed with the representative, the court or both, and a claimant who files with the court mails a copy to the representative and the attorney within 10 days (section 18-1).

Section 18-12 is the rule families most often ask about. Every claim except expenses of administration and the surviving spouse's or child's award is barred as to all of the estate if the claimant was given notice under section 18-3 and did not file by the date in the notice, if the representative mailed a notice of disallowance under section 18-11 and the claimant did not file with the court by the date in that notice (not less than 2 months from the notice), or if an unknown claimant did not file by the date in the published notice (sections 18-11(b) and 18-12(a)). Unless barred sooner, all claims that could have been barred are in any event barred 2 years after the decedent's death, whether or not letters of office are ever issued (section 18-12(b)). The bar does not stop an action to establish the decedent's liability to the extent the estate is protected by liability insurance (section 18-12(c)). A representative who acts in good faith to find and notify creditors is not personally liable to a creditor, except for a known claim that was neither paid nor barred; an unbarred claim may still be asserted against undistributed assets and against a distributee up to the amount that distributee received beyond what he would have received had the claim been paid (section 18-12(d)).

The representative may at any time pay or consent in writing to a claim he determines to be valid, which allows the claim and binds the estate (section 18-11(a)). Claims are paid in the order of their classification, and when the estate cannot pay all claims in a class, the claims in that class are paid pro rata (section 18-13). The classes are: first, funeral and burial expenses, expenses of administration and statutory custodial claims; second, the surviving spouse's or child's award; third, debts due the United States; fourth, reasonable and necessary medical, hospital and nursing home expenses for the year before death and wages of up to $800 per employee for services within 4 months before death; fifth, money and property the decedent held in trust that cannot be identified or traced; sixth, debts due the State and its local governments; and seventh, all other claims (section 18-10).

The spouse's and child's awards

The surviving spouse of an Illinois resident whose estate is administered here is allowed, as the spouse's own property, exempt from judgment enforcement, garnishment or attachment while in the representative's hands, a sum the court deems reasonable for the spouse's proper support for 9 months after the death, suited to the spouse's condition in life and the condition of the estate, plus a reasonable sum for the support during that period of the decedent's minor children who resided with the spouse; the award may in no case be less than $20,000, together with not less than $10,000 for each such child, and is paid in not more than 3 installments as the court directs (section 15-1(a)). For an adult child who is likely to become a public charge, was financially dependent on the decedent and lived with the spouse, the award is at least $5,000, but the spouse or child must give written notice asserting the dependency within 30 days after the representative's written notice of the potential award or the right is barred (section 15-1(a-5)). The spouse is entitled to the award unless the will expressly provides that its gifts to the spouse are in lieu of the award and the spouse does not renounce the will (section 15-1(b)). A minor child who did not live with the spouse receives a separate award of not less than $10,000, and when there is no surviving spouse the decedent's minor children share an award of not less than $10,000 each plus $20,000 divided among them (section 15-2(a) and (b)).

In supervised administration the representative applies to the court for the award and mails a copy of the award to each person it favors; the spouse, an heir, a legatee or a creditor may petition the court to increase or diminish it (section 15-3). An independent representative may pay the award without applying to the court unless all awards together exceed 5% of the gross estate at death, and may pay the minimum amount in any event (section 28-7). The spouse may elect in writing, within 30 days after notice of the allowance, to take all or part of the award in goods and chattels of the decedent not specifically bequeathed, at their appraised value (section 15-4). A surviving spouse, whether or not the will provides for the spouse, may also file a renunciation within 7 months after the will is admitted and take one third of the entire estate after claims if the testator left a descendant, or one half if not (section 2-8); the spouse's rights guide covers both the award and the renunciation.

The house during administration

Unless the will provides otherwise, the representative takes possession of the decedent's real estate during administration, collects the rents, keeps the buildings in tenantable repair and pays the taxes, mortgages and other liens as they come due (section 20-1(a)). The representative may not take possession of real estate that an heir or legatee occupies as his residence unless the will so provides or the court finds possession necessary to pay claims, expenses, taxes or legacies, to preserve the property or to distribute the estate properly (section 20-1(b)). An independent representative may sell or mortgage real estate to which the decedent had title without a court order, and when the estate includes real estate that has not been sold, must record and deliver to the persons entitled an instrument with the legal description that releases the estate's interest (sections 28-8(i) and 28-10(a)). The Cook County clerk's page describes the same step in local terms: after the judge signs an order of release, it is taken with the letters of office to the Cook County Recorder of Deeds at 118 N. Clark Street, which changes the name on the deed. The transfer on death instrument guide explains how a house can pass outside this process.

Step 7: accounts, distribution and closing

In supervised administration every representative presents a verified account to the court within 60 days after the end of 12 months from the issuance of letters, and thereafter whenever the court requires until administration is completed; the account states receipts and disbursements since the last account and all real and personal estate on hand, and the court may excuse an account if all interested persons file written consents (section 24-1). Notice of the hearing on an account goes to unpaid creditors and all other interested persons, and an approved account binds everyone who was notified, absent fraud, accident or mistake (section 24-2). On settlement the court may order the representative to pay the claims in the order of section 18-13 and, if the assets are sufficient to pay all claims, to distribute the estate to the persons entitled; if the estate cannot pay all legacies, specific legacies are satisfied pro rata before general legacies (section 24-3).

An independent representative is accountable to all interested persons but need not present an account to the court unless an interested person requests one (section 28-11(a)). If it appears that there are sufficient assets to pay all claims, he may distribute at any time, taking a refunding bond from the distributee where distribution is made before the claims period of section 18-12 has run (section 28-10(a)). To close, he mails or delivers an accounting to all interested persons and files in the court a verified report stating that the required notices were given, that the claims notice was published and all known creditors notified, that the inventory and accounting were delivered, that each claim filed has been allowed, disallowed, compromised, dismissed or barred and all allowed claims paid, that death taxes have been paid or provided for, that expenses have been paid, that the remaining assets have been distributed, and that the fees of the representative and attorney have been approved by all interested persons (section 28-11(b)). Where every creditor's approval or paid claim and every heir's and legatee's signed receipt is on file, the court enters the order discharging the representative and declaring the estate closed without further notice (section 28-11(c) and (d)); otherwise the representative mails the report within 14 days to each person entitled to notice, and after 42 days from the filing may apply for discharge if no objection is pending (section 28-11(e)). The discharge order binds everyone who signed a receipt or was given notice, absent fraud, accident or mistake (section 28-11(f)).

What probate costs in Illinois

The Probate Act does not set fees in dollars. A representative is entitled to reasonable compensation for his services, paid as a first class claim for administrative expenses (section 27-1), and the attorney for a representative is likewise entitled to reasonable compensation (section 27-2); in independent administration the closing report states that all interested persons approved those fees (section 28-11(b)(9)). Court filing fees are charged by each county's circuit clerk. The Clerk of the Circuit Court of Cook County, for example, posts a Probate Division Fee Schedule dated October 1, 2025 that lists a new case filing fee of $479.00 and an appearance fee of $250.00 for each type of decedent's estate case: independent administration, letters of administration to collect, summary administration and supervised administration where there is no will, and independent, summary and supervised executor and will annexed cases where there is one; local governments and school districts pay $204.00 and $95.00. The clerk's Probate Division page repeats that the cost for filing is $479.00, says there is no fee for filing a will, and prices certified copies at $2.00 for the first page, $.50 for each page after up to 25 pages, $.25 per page beyond that and $2.00 per certification. The same page says that to open a probate estate you need to hire an attorney, who files the court forms through the eFile system; it describes the office at the Richard J. Daley Center, 50 West Washington St., Room 1202, Chicago, open Monday through Friday 8:30 am to 4:30 pm. This guide read only Cook County's schedule; check the circuit clerk of the county where the estate will be opened.

Smaller estates: the affidavit and summary administration

Two shortcuts avoid most of the steps above. Where no letters of office are outstanding and none are contemplated, and the decedent's personal estate passing by will or intestacy, not counting motor vehicles registered with the Secretary of State, does not exceed $150,000, a small estate affidavit in the form set out in section 25-1 requires a bank, transfer agent or other holder to pay or deliver the property to the persons the affidavit names, with no court case at all; the limit was raised from $100,000 by Public Act 104-0346 for deaths on or after August 15, 2025, and Public Act 104-0624 will count certain vehicles such as motor homes toward the limit for deaths on or after January 1, 2027. The small estate affidavit guide covers the form and the affiant's duties. Where the gross real and personal estate subject to administration does not exceed $100,000, there are no unpaid claims or all known claimants are listed, no death taxes are due or they are provided for, every heir and legatee consents in writing, each distributee gives a refunding bond, and the petitioner has published notice once a week for 3 weeks beginning at least 30 days before the hearing, the court may direct distribution on summary administration and excuse or revoke letters of office (section 9-8).

What a living trust changes

Property the owner moved into a revocable living trust during life is held by the trustee under the trust's terms, and the settlor may revoke or amend the trust by the method the instrument provides or by a later signed writing that refers to the trust (760 ILCS 3/602). That property is not inventoried, published for or accounted for by the representative, because it is not the decedent's estate. Where a trustee is an interested person in an estate, the Probate Act requires no separate notice or accounting to the trust's beneficiaries (sections 1-2.11 and 24-2). Property left outside the trust still goes through the steps above, which is why an Illinois trust package includes a pour-over will and funding instructions. See the Illinois living trust page for what the package includes and how it is signed.