How long does probate take in Illinois? The short answer

The honest answer to "how long does probate take in Illinois" starts with one number in the Probate Act: creditors get at least six months from the first published notice to file claims. No Cook County estate can be fully closed before that window runs. Add the weeks it takes to get a representative appointed at the front end and the accounting, tax returns and distributions at the back end, and a straightforward estate under independent administration usually takes somewhere between nine and fourteen months. Estates with a will contest, a property sale, missing heirs or a tax audit take longer, sometimes much longer.

This article walks through the Cook County process step by step, with the statutory deadlines that set the pace, and then explains what the estate actually pays for. Every figure below is current as of October 2026 and tied to a source listed at the end.

When an Illinois estate has to go through probate

Probate is only required for property the decedent owned in their own name with no built-in way to pass it on. Assets held in a funded revocable trust, real estate covered by a recorded transfer on death instrument, joint-tenancy property, and accounts with a named beneficiary all pass outside the court. The problems start with whatever is left: a house titled solely in the decedent's name, a brokerage account with no beneficiary, a vehicle, a refund check.

Illinois lets a family collect those leftover assets without a court case if two things are true: the personal estate passing by will or intestacy is worth $150,000 or less (motor vehicles registered with the Secretary of State do not count toward that figure), and there is no real estate to transfer. That is the small estate affidavit under 755 ILCS 5/25-1. If the estate is over the limit, or the decedent owned real estate in their sole name, or someone is already disputing the will or the heirs, a probate case is the only route.

The case is filed in the county where the decedent lived (755 ILCS 5/5-1). For anyone who lived in Palos Heights, Orland Park, Oak Lawn, Tinley Park or anywhere else in Cook County, that means the Circuit Court of Cook County, Probate Division. The Clerk's Probate Division office is at the Richard J. Daley Center, 50 W. Washington St., Room 1202, Chicago. There is no suburban probate courthouse; southwest-suburban estates are handled downtown.

How long does probate take in Cook County? The timeline, clock by clock

Day one: file the original will

Illinois law requires whoever holds the original will to file it with the clerk of the court immediately after the death (755 ILCS 5/6-1). Willfully hiding a will for 30 days after learning of the death is a felony. The Clerk charges nothing to file a will. Filing the will does not open an estate; it simply puts the document on record so a petition can follow.

Weeks one to six: petition, hearing and letters of office

The person named as executor (or, with no will, a qualified relative petitioning to be administrator) files a petition to open the estate. The Clerk's current fee to open a decedent's estate in Cook County is $479, whether the case is testate or intestate, independent or supervised, and the Clerk's office instructs that the petition is e-filed through an attorney. The petition is accompanied by an affidavit of heirship, the proposed representative's oath, and either a bond or a request to waive it. If the will excuses bond, no surety is required unless the court has reason to suspect fraud or an insolvent estate (755 ILCS 5/12-4); a court can still require a bond from a nonresident executor (755 ILCS 5/6-13(d)). When a bond is required and a surety company writes it, the amount is one and one-half times the value of the personal estate (755 ILCS 5/12-5).

The court sets a hearing. If nobody objects and the paperwork is in order, the judge admits the will, appoints the representative and issues letters of office. The letters are the document banks, brokers and the Secretary of State will ask for before they release anything.

Within 14 days of the order: notice to heirs and legatees

Not more than 14 days after the order, the representative must mail a copy of the petition and the order to every heir and legatee listed in the petition, together with the Supreme Court's explanation of their rights (755 ILCS 5/6-10). Anyone whose address is unknown is served by publication once a week for three weeks.

Two short clocks start here. Any heir or legatee who did not get notice before the will was admitted can demand formal proof of the will within 42 days of the order (755 ILCS 5/6-21). And any interested person has six months from the admission of the will to file a will contest (755 ILCS 5/8-1). A careful representative does not make large distributions until that six-month contest window has closed.

Months one to seven: the creditor claims period

The representative publishes a notice to creditors once a week for three successive weeks in a newspaper published in Cook County, and mails the notice to every creditor whose name and address are known or reasonably ascertainable. The notice states a claims bar date that must be at least six months from the first publication, or three months from mailing to a known creditor, whichever is later (755 ILCS 5/18-3). A claim not filed by that date is barred (755 ILCS 5/18-12). This is the single biggest reason an Illinois estate cannot close quickly: the representative who pays everyone out before the bar date and then meets an unknown creditor has a personal problem.

Claims that could have been barred are in any event barred two years after death, even if no estate was ever opened. That two-year rule matters for small-estate affidavits, which do not cut the period short.

Months one to twelve: gathering assets, taxes and the sale of real estate

While the claims period runs, the representative obtains an EIN for the estate, opens an estate bank account, collects the accounts and personal property, has real estate and closely held business interests valued, and prepares an inventory for the heirs and legatees. If the house has to be sold, the listing, contract, attorney review and closing add their own months; selling in the estate rather than distributing in kind is a decision with tax consequences that we come back to below.

The tax work runs in parallel. The decedent's final federal and Illinois income tax returns are due at the usual time. The estate files its own income tax return (Form 1041 and the Illinois equivalent) if it earns income after death. An Illinois estate tax return is required when the gross estate plus adjusted taxable gifts exceeds $4,000,000 (35 ILCS 405/2); the federal estate tax return is required above the federal basic exclusion, which is $15,000,000 for deaths in 2026. Most Cook County estates owe neither tax, but the representative is the one who has to confirm that.

Closing: the final report and discharge

Under independent administration, the representative does not file inventories or accountings with the court unless an interested person asks (755 ILCS 5/28-1). To close, the representative sends an accounting to everyone interested, pays or resolves every claim, pays the administration expenses and fees, distributes what is left, and files a verified final report stating that each of those things has been done (755 ILCS 5/28-11). Heirs and legatees who sign receipts approving the fees need no further notice. Once the report is on file and the notice period runs, the court enters an order discharging the representative and closing the estate.

Supervised administration follows the same path but with the court approving the inventory, the accounts, the sale of assets and the fees along the way, which adds court dates and months. The court must order supervised administration if an interested person objects to independent administration, unless the will itself directs independent administration and the court finds no good cause (755 ILCS 5/28-2). It may also require supervision when a minor or disabled heir is not adequately protected.

What makes a Cook County estate take longer than a year

  • A will contest, which has its own six-month filing window and then proceeds like a lawsuit, with discovery and possibly a jury.
  • Heirs who cannot be found, which forces publication and sometimes a guardian ad litem.
  • Real estate that must be sold, or that is out of state and needs an ancillary proceeding there.
  • A business interest that has to be valued, run or sold.
  • A disputed or contingent claim against the estate, such as a pending lawsuit or a Medicaid recovery claim.
  • An estate tax return, which cannot be finalized until values are fixed and, in some cases, until the taxing authority has accepted it.
  • Supervised administration, or a representative who lets months pass between steps.

What probate costs in Cook County

Illinois does not set probate fees as a percentage of the estate. The cost is the sum of specific items, several of which are small and fixed.

The two larger items are compensation. The representative is entitled to reasonable compensation for his or her services (755 ILCS 5/27-1), and the attorney for the representative is likewise entitled to reasonable compensation (755 ILCS 5/27-2). Reasonable means what the work actually required, judged by the time, the complexity and the result; in independent administration the heirs and legatees approve those fees in the final report, and a court reviews them only if someone objects. Many family executors waive their own fee because it is taxable income to them while the inheritance is not. We quote our fee for a probate engagement in writing before the petition is filed, and we tell you then which parts of the work are fixed and which depend on how the estate unfolds.

Where the attorney-CPA combination changes the outcome

Probate is a legal process with a tax return attached to almost every step, and the two do not always point the same way. A few examples from Cook County estates:

  • Sell in the estate or distribute in kind. Property acquired from a decedent takes a basis equal to its date-of-death value under Internal Revenue Code section 1014. Selling the house shortly after death usually produces little or no taxable gain, but who sells it, the estate or the heirs after distribution, affects whose return reports it and what deductions are available.
  • The estate's fiscal year. An estate can choose a fiscal year, which can shift when heirs pick up income from the estate and sometimes which bracket it lands in.
  • Retirement accounts. An IRA payable to the estate because no beneficiary was named is a common and expensive mistake; the distribution rules are worse than for a named individual, and the fix has to be found on both the legal and the tax side.
  • Illinois estate tax. The $4,000,000 Illinois exclusion is not portable between spouses, so the surviving spouse's own plan often needs attention while the first estate is still open.

Because Hani H. Khatib, Attorney at Law · CPA · LL.M. (Taxation), handles both sides in one engagement, the estate's tax questions are answered by the person who already knows what is in the inventory. Read more about how the attorney-CPA role works.

Avoiding the question next time

Most of a Cook County probate is avoidable with a funded revocable trust, a transfer on death instrument for the house, correct beneficiary designations, and a will that waives bond and directs independent administration for whatever is left. Our estate planning page explains the pieces, and our article on beneficiary designations covers the mistake that undoes the rest.

Frequently asked questions

Does every Illinois estate with a will go through probate?

No. A will only controls assets that would otherwise go through probate. If everything the decedent owned passes by trust, joint tenancy, transfer on death instrument or beneficiary designation, the will is filed with the clerk and nothing else happens. If sole-name assets remain and they exceed the small estate limit or include real estate, the will is admitted to probate and an executor is appointed.

Can the executor be paid in Illinois?

Yes. The Probate Act allows reasonable compensation for the representative's services. The amount is not a fixed percentage; it is based on the work actually done, and in independent administration the heirs and legatees approve it when they sign off on the final report. The fee is taxable income to the executor.

Can I open a Cook County probate without a lawyer?

The Clerk's Probate Division states that a decedent's estate is opened through an attorney who e-files the petition. Beyond the Clerk's practice, a representative acts for the heirs and the creditors, not only for himself, and the petition, notices, publication, inventory and final report each have formal requirements that are hard to repair after the fact.

What if there is no will?

The court appoints an administrator, usually the spouse or an adult child, and the Illinois intestacy rules decide who inherits. The timeline is the same as a testate estate, with the same claims period. The administrator may need to post a bond, because there is no will to waive it.

What to do next

If you are handling a Cook County estate and want a plan before the first filing, call (708) 722-2222 or request a consultation. The first conversation covers what the decedent owned and how it was titled, whether a small estate affidavit can do the job, who should serve, and what the realistic timeline and cost look like for this estate. If probate is needed, our probate attorney page explains how we handle the case from petition to discharge.

General information as of October 4, 2026; not legal advice; laws change; consult a lawyer about your situation.