Rockford Living Trust: Winnebago 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 covers Winnebago County. Under 755 ILCS 5/5-1 an estate is administered "In the county where he has a known place of residence", and the Winnebago County Clerk of the Circuit Court's Wills page speaks of the will "of a deceased Winnebago County resident". Both offices described below have Rockford addresses: the clerk at 400 West State Street and the Recorder at 404 Elm Street. Winnebago County's own site lists Rockford among its community links. A Rockford mailing address outside Winnebago County is served by that county's circuit clerk and recorder.

The clerk's site is circuitclerk.wincoil.gov and the Recorder's pages are on wincoil.gov.

The Clerk of the Circuit Court

The clerk's mission statement says that "According to the Illinois State Statutes, the responsibility of the circuit clerk is to be the keeper of the court record." Its Probate page says "A Probate case number shall be assigned to an estates of decedents and missing persons", lists "Administration of Decedent's Estate" among the actions filed under the PR category, and notes that "As of January 1, 2022 the 'P' case category has been split, 'Probate' will be a 'PR' and a 'Guardianship' will be a 'GR' case category." On how to file: "It is highly recommended a petitioner consult a licensed practicing attorney to prepare the proper forms necessary to file this type of case. The Law Library located on the third floor of the Winnebago County Courthouse is also available for research purposes." The petition is e-filed through an approved service provider ("the Winnebago County Circuit Clerk's Office staff has been trained to assist with Odyssey eFileIL"), with the fee "due upon filing", and "Pursuant to Illinois Statute (705 ILCS 110 / 1) the Circuit Clerk's Office is unable to assist in the preparation of documents or give any legal advice."

Filing the will

"An Original Last Will and Testament and additional Codicils (if applicable) of a deceased Winnebago County resident should be filed at the Circuit Clerk's Office room 108. The clerk will file and assign a number to the Will, and provide the filer with a Will Receipt for their records." The clerk asks for the decedent's date of birth and date of death, and sells certified copies "for a fee of $8.00 for the first page and .50 for each page thereafter." The fee schedule adds that wills cannot be filed electronically, that filing a will carries no fee, and it reprints 755 ILCS 5/6-1: "Immediately upon the death of the testator any person who has the testator's will in his possession shall file it with the clerk of the court of the proper county".

Fees on the schedule effective September 9, 2026

Recording a deed with the Recorder's Office

The Recorder's page says "The primary responsibility of the Winnebago County Recorder is to establish accurate and timely indexing and maintenance of land records in Winnebago County", and that the office has "securely stored Deeds, Mortgages, Liens, Plats & Surveys" and other instruments since the 1830s. Its FAQs answer "How much does it cost to file a deed?" with "Recording a document costs $54.00, as long as it is in compliance with state statutes ( 55 ILCS 5/3-5018.2 )." On help with the document itself: "Our office cannot assist in preparation of any documents. We can only inform you if information is missing when the document is presented to us", and "we always recommend seeking legal advice because we cannot assist in the preparation of documents, nor can we suggest which type of deed needs to be filed."

The Filing Fees page explains that Public Act 103-0884, signed August 9, 2024, amended the Counties Code's "Predictable fee schedule for recordings in first and second class counties", and that "As approved by the Winnebago County Board on December 12, 2024, the Winnebago County Recorder's Office's Predictable Fee Schedule will be amended to reflect the changes in state law. All changes effective January 1, 2025." The schedule:

A standard document is one or more 8.5 by 11 inch sheets, not permanently bound, legibly printed in black ink on white paper of at least 20-pound weight 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, and nothing stapled or affixed; a document with six or more property identification numbers or document numbers is nonstandard. The page also states: "Payment by cash, check, or credit card", "No bills larger than $50 will be accepted", that no copies are accepted for recording (printed in capitals), and "A 'return to' name and address is required for all documents being submitted for recording." The statute, 55 ILCS 5/3-5018.2, requires the aggregate deed fee to be "not less than $31 (being a minimum $13 county fee plus $18 for the Rental Housing Support Program State surcharge)" and lets a county board raise the fee on a cost study; its source line is "(Source: P.A. 103-400, eff. 1-1-24; 103-884, eff. 1-1-25.)".

The transfer declaration

Illinois taxes "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), and under 35 ILCS 200/31-25 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", signed by at least one seller and one buyer, except as Section 31-45 provides. The Winnebago Recorder's FAQs say: "As of July 1, 2023, all transfer declarations must be completed using the MyDec service provided by the Illinois Department of Revenue. Please use the link found under Forms & Downloads. We are no longer accepting the old PTAX-203 form." The county pages do not say whether a deed to the trustee of the owner's own revocable trust is exempt, so that is a question for the declaration and the Department of Revenue, not this page. The Recorder's page also carries a notice, dated June 1, 2026, that under Public Act 104-0382 it intends to run a fraud referral and review process for recorded deeds "on or after September 8, 2026", and invites owners to its free Property Fraud Alert program.

Small estates and the spouse's award

755 ILCS 5/25-1 lets a family collect personal property without a PR case. A person or institution holding the decedent's property that is "furnished with a small estate affidavit in substantially the form hereinafter set forth" must "pay the indebtedness, grant access to the safe deposit box, deliver the personal estate or transfer or issue the evidence of interest". The affidavit is available only 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 is limited to, "excluding motor vehicles registered with the Secretary of State, tangible and intangible personal property not exceeding $150,000" plus the registered vehicles. The source line is "(Source: P.A. 104-346, eff. 8-15-25; 104-624, eff. 1-1-27.)"; Public Act 104-0346 fixed the $150,000 limit for deaths on or after August 15, 2025, and the text as amended by Public Act 104-0624, for a decedent dying on or after January 1, 2027, says 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 "shall not be considered an excluded motor vehicle". The statutory form itself states the awards: "$20,000, plus $10,000 multiplied by the number of minor children and adult dependent children who resided with the surviving spouse at the time of the decedent's death". 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. See the Illinois small estate affidavit guide.

In a court-administered estate, 755 ILCS 5/15-1 allows the surviving spouse "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", never "less than $20,000, together with an additional sum not less than $10,000 for each" minor child residing with the spouse, paid "at such time or times, not exceeding 3 installments, as the court directs", and under subsection (a-5) at least $5,000 for each adult child "who is likely to become a public charge and was financially dependent on the decedent". The award is lost only where the will "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.)". Once letters issue, 755 ILCS 5/28-1 "permits an executor or administrator to administer the estate without court order or filings" except where the Article requires one or an interested person asks for one ("(Source: P.A. 83-900.)").

What a living trust changes for a Rockford homeowner

Everything above about the PR case, letters of office, claims and the spouse's award concerns property the person still held in his or her own name. A Rockford home deeded during life to the trustee of a revocable living trust is titled in the trustee, so at death the successor trustee administers it under the trust instrument instead of a $292.00 filing at 400 West State Street. The cost of that change is the $54.00 standard document fee at Room 405 of the Administration Building, plus the MyDec declaration, paid while the owner is alive. What the trust does not hold goes through the steps in the Illinois probate process guide.