Springfield, Illinois Living Trust: Sangamon 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 Sangamon County. Under 755 ILCS 5/5-1 an estate is administered in the court of "the county where he has a known place of residence", and a deed is recorded with the recorder of the county where the land lies. The Sangamon County Circuit Clerk and the Sangamon County Recorder both give their address as 200 South Ninth Street, Springfield, Illinois 62701, and the Seventh Judicial Circuit's page on the county site says its "Counties include Greene, Jersey, Macoupin, Morgan, Sangamon and Scott", so a Springfield estate is heard in the Sangamon County part of that circuit. A Springfield address outside Sangamon County is served by that county's circuit clerk and recorder.

The Circuit Clerk

The clerk's site says "The Sangamon County Circuit Clerk's Office serves as the administrative arm of our court system. The Circuit Clerk is responsible for keeping the official record in all proceedings that come before the Sangamon County Courts", and that the office collects and distributes "all money owed to the Court." Filing is electronic: "With the Illinois Supreme Court mandating electronic filing, our goal for our customers is to be sure this process is completed accurately and efficiently", and the office asks visitors who file at the counter to "allow 30-45 minutes for this process at our front counter." Its Case Types file says "A Probate case number shall be assigned to estates of decedents and missing persons", while guardianship of a minor, a person with a disability or "an estate of any person under the Probate Act of 1975" is a GR case. The Seventh Judicial Circuit's Courtroom Locations page says "Courtrooms are located on the 5th, 6th, and 7th floors. Room assignments differ depending on the case type", with receptionists on each floor (5th floor 217/753-6365) and video monitors that direct visitors to the right room; it does not assign a floor to probate matters, so none is given here.

Fees on the schedule updated September 21, 2026

The schedule prints no separate line for letters of office or for filing a will in the probate section, so this page does not state those charges; ask the clerk.

Recording a deed with the Recorder

The Recorder's About page says "The Recorder's office is the official land records office for Sangamon County" and that instruments filed there "include deeds, mortgages, releases and assignments, property liens, as well as assorted federal, state and local liens." The Fee Schedule page heads itself "Sangamon County Recorder - A Grantor/Grantee Office" and warns that "Document Preparation is a specialized task that may demand legal knowledge or advice. Black Ink is required." Every document "must contain" the "Name and Address of Preparer", "Return To", "Tax Bill To (if applicable)" and "Tax ID# and Common Address", the last two obtainable from the Supervisor of Assessments at 217-753-6805.

The page notes that "Legislators have recently passed HB3878 which increases the Rental Housing Support Fee by an additional $9.00", effective July 1, 2023, and links its "Predictable Fee Schedule", the county's schedule under 55 ILCS 5/3-5018.2, which requires a flat fee by document class of "not less than $31 (being a minimum $13 county fee plus $18 for the Rental Housing Support Program State surcharge)" for deeds; the statute's source line is "(Source: P.A. 103-400, eff. 1-1-24; 103-884, eff. 1-1-25.)".

Changing ownership and the transfer declaration

The Recorder's FAQ page answers "How do I change the ownership of a piece of property?" this way: "Each time ownership of property is transferred, whether through a sale or gift, a new deed form must be prepared, signed, notarized and recorded in our office. If the transfer is a sale of property for $100 or more, a PTAX 203 must be completed and must accompany the deed for recording for purposes of collecting transfer taxes based upon the sale price. If gifting property, the transfer is exempt from transfer taxes and the deed must contain the appropriate exemption paragraph. Deeds may qualify as being exempt from transfer taxes for various other reasons." The fee page puts the stamps at "$.50 per $500 value for State plus $.25 per $500 value for County", which matches 35 ILCS 200/31-10 ("at the rate of 50¢ for each $500 of value or fraction of $500 stated in the declaration required by Section 31-25") for the state share. 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", except as Section 31-45 provides. Whether a deed to the trustee of the owner's own revocable trust falls under an exemption paragraph is decided on the declaration, not by this page. After recording, the FAQ says in one answer "Our goal is to have the original document returned within three (3) to five (5) business days" and in another "Documents are returned within seven (7) to ten (10) business days"; the office's own words are given rather than a single figure. Forms "are available in our office", on the Recorder's forms page "and at most office supply stores", and recording "consists of assigning a document number, date and time to the instrument being recorded, scanning, indexing and verifying the instrument so that it may become a permanent public record."

Small estates and the spouse's award

Under 755 ILCS 5/25-1, when a person or financial institution "indebted to or holding personal estate of a decedent" is "furnished with a small estate affidavit in substantially the form hereinafter set forth", it "shall pay the indebtedness, grant access to the safe deposit box, deliver the personal estate or transfer or issue the evidence of interest" as the affidavit directs. The affidavit may be used only if "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, "excluding motor vehicles registered with the Secretary of State, tangible and intangible personal property not exceeding $150,000" plus those vehicles. Its source line is "(Source: P.A. 104-346, eff. 8-15-25; 104-624, eff. 1-1-27.)". Public Act 104-0346 (SB 83), an act concerning civil law, took effect upon becoming law on August 15, 2025 and set the $150,000 figure; the section's text "after amendment by P.A. 104-624" provides that for later deaths "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 excluded vehicles, so they count toward the $150,000. The affidavit in the statute recites the spouse's award as "$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. Real estate is outside the affidavit. The Illinois small estate affidavit guide covers the form.

When an estate is administered, 755 ILCS 5/15-1 entitles the surviving spouse, "as the surviving spouse's own property, exempt from the enforcement of a judgment, garnishment or attachment", to a sum "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 residing with the spouse; subsection (a-5) adds "at least $5,000 for each" adult dependent child, on written notice within 30 days. The award is paid "at such time or times, not exceeding 3 installments, as the court directs", and the spouse keeps it "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.)". Independent administration under 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: P.A. 83-900.)").

What a living trust changes for a Springfield homeowner

The $276.00 PR case, the appearance fee, the claims and the spouse's award belong to the estate of property the person still held in his or her own name. A Springfield home deeded during life to the trustee of a revocable living trust is held under the trust instrument, so at death the successor trustee handles it without a filing at the clerk's counter on Ninth Street. The cost of that change is one trip to the first floor of the same building: a $64 standard document fee, a deed in black ink with the preparer, return-to and tax bill addresses and the parcel number, and the PTAX-203 declaration or exemption paragraph. Property left outside the trust follows the Illinois probate process guide.