Illinois executor and estate paperwork checklist

This is an organizer, not legal advice. An estate attorney or the county probate/surrogate office answers questions about your situation.

The first 30 days

Work down the list; nothing you tick is saved or sent. The steps are general, the dates come from the official pages.

1. Get several certified copies of the death certificateThe funeral home can usually order them, or the vital records office can. Each bank, insurer and pension plan may ask for its own.
2. Confirm the death was reported to Social SecurityUsually the funeral home does this. If it didn't, phone 1-800-772-1213 (TTY 1-800-325-0778); a widow or widower, or certain children, may qualify for $255.
3. Locate the signed will and any changesThe signed original matters more than a copy. Keep it whole and somewhere safe, and note who else has a copy.
4. Protect the propertyChange locks if keys are out, keep insurance paid, and have the mail forwarded so bills and statements reach you.
5. Pause before paying creditors or dividing keepsakesWho may act, and in what order bills get paid, depends on the route. Ask before you spend or distribute anything.
6. Stop using the person's power of attorneyA power of attorney ends at the principal's death, so an agent under it can't act for the estate.
7. Start an inventoryEvery account, property, vehicle and debt, with how each is held. Beneficiary and joint accounts usually pass directly, not through the estate.
8. Check the total against $150,000The official page's small estate figure (it changes with the date of death). Leave out anything the page says isn't counted.
9. Open a simple money logOne line per payment or deposit, with the date, who, how much and the receipt. It makes the final accounting easy.
10. When appointed, get an EIN and open an estate accountPay estate bills from that account only. Form 1041 is due if the estate has more than $600 of gross income in a year (IRS).

Sources for the federal steps: Social Security Administration: When someone dies · IRS: Deceased taxpayers, filing the estate income tax return (Form 1041) · power of attorney: Power of attorney at a real estate closing.

The small estate route

• ConfirmedSmall estate limit

  Gross value of the personal estate, not counting motor vehicles registered with the Secretary of State, up to $150,000 for deaths on or after August 15, 2025 (Public Act 104-0346); $100,000 before.

  "Excluding motor vehicles registered with the Secretary of State"

  • By date of death: through August 14, 2025: $100,000; from August 15, 2025: $150,000.
  • Vehicles aren't counted toward this limit; they're handled separately.

  Source: Illinois Public Act 104-0346 (small estate affidavit, effective 8/15/2025) (Illinois General Assembly), checked November 2026

• ConfirmedReal estate

  Real estate isn't counted, and the affidavit doesn't transfer it; it needs its own route.

  Source: Illinois Public Act 104-0346 (small estate affidavit, effective 8/15/2025) (Illinois General Assembly), checked November 2026

• ConfirmedWaiting period after the death

  No waiting period: section 25-1 sets none. The affidavit gives the date of death and attaches a copy of the death certificate.

  Sources: Illinois Public Act 104-0346 (small estate affidavit, effective 8/15/2025) (Illinois General Assembly); 24th Judicial Circuit of Illinois: Small Estate Affidavit form (PDF); 755 ILCS 5/25-1, Small estate affidavit, as amended by P.A. 104-624, eff. 1-1-27 (Illinois General Assembly); Illinois Public Act 104-0624 (effective 1/1/2027) (Illinois General Assembly); Nolo (secondary source): Probate Shortcuts in Illinois (Nolo), checked November 2026

• ConfirmedNotary or oath

  Signed before a notary. The statutory affidavit ends with a notary jurat.

  "Signed and sworn before me on"

  Sources: Illinois Public Act 104-0346 (small estate affidavit, effective 8/15/2025) (Illinois General Assembly); 24th Judicial Circuit of Illinois: Small Estate Affidavit form (PDF); 755 ILCS 5/25-1, Small estate affidavit, as amended by P.A. 104-624, eff. 1-1-27 (Illinois General Assembly); Illinois Public Act 104-0624 (effective 1/1/2027) (Illinois General Assembly); Nolo (secondary source): Probate Shortcuts in Illinois (Nolo), checked November 2026

• ConfirmedWhere the paperwork goes

  Handed to the bank or other holder. Handed to whoever holds the property or owes the debt; the statute doesn't require filing the affidavit with a court or clerk.

  "is furnished with a small estate affidavit in substantially the form hereinafter set forth"

  Sources: 24th Judicial Circuit of Illinois: Small Estate Affidavit form (PDF); 755 ILCS 5/25-1, Small estate affidavit, as amended by P.A. 104-624, eff. 1-1-27 (Illinois General Assembly), checked November 2026

• ConfirmedOfficial form

  Small Estate Affidavit (statutory form, 755 ILCS 5/25-1). The form is set out in the statute; circuit courts post copies, like this one from the 24th Circuit.

  Sources: 24th Judicial Circuit of Illinois: Small Estate Affidavit form (PDF); 755 ILCS 5/25-1, Small estate affidavit, as amended by P.A. 104-624, eff. 1-1-27 (Illinois General Assembly), checked November 2026

• ConfirmedSimplified court procedure

  Summary administration: As Nolo's summary describes it: a petition to the local probate court that, if approved, lets the assets be distributed without regular probate; it isn't available when heirs disagree about the estate.

  Source: Nolo (secondary source): Probate Shortcuts in Illinois (Nolo), checked November 2026

• ConfirmedSurviving spouse

  The affidavit sets aside a spouse's award of $20,000 plus $10,000 for each minor or dependent child living with the spouse; with no spouse, the children share the same amounts.

  "$20,000, plus $10,000 multiplied by the number of minor children and adult dependent children"

  Sources: Illinois Public Act 104-0346 (small estate affidavit, effective 8/15/2025) (Illinois General Assembly); 24th Judicial Circuit of Illinois: Small Estate Affidavit form (PDF); 755 ILCS 5/25-1, Small estate affidavit, as amended by P.A. 104-624, eff. 1-1-27 (Illinois General Assembly); Illinois Public Act 104-0624 (effective 1/1/2027) (Illinois General Assembly); Nolo (secondary source): Probate Shortcuts in Illinois (Nolo), checked November 2026

• ConfirmedWorth knowing

  The 24th Circuit's copy of the form carries the $150,000 figure and lists vehicles separately by make, year and VIN. The affidavit covers the personal estate; the form has no real estate section. Public Act 104-0624 rewrites the section for deaths on or after January 1, 2027 (it also lets the affidavit be used only to retitle the decedent's motor vehicles, whatever the estate's value); the form's $150,000 figure and notary jurat stay.

  Sources: 24th Judicial Circuit of Illinois: Small Estate Affidavit form (PDF); 755 ILCS 5/25-1, Small estate affidavit, as amended by P.A. 104-624, eff. 1-1-27 (Illinois General Assembly); Illinois Public Act 104-0624 (effective 1/1/2027) (Illinois General Assembly), checked November 2026

The will at probate

When the will goes to the court, these signing rules are what it is checked against.

• ConfirmedWitnesses the will needed

  Two or more credible witnesses, who attest in the testator's presence.

  "attested in the presence of the testator by 2 or more credible witnesses."

  Sources: 755 ILCS 5/4-3, Signing and attestation (Illinois General Assembly); 755 ILCS 5/4-1, Capacity to make a will (Illinois General Assembly); Public Act 102-0167, Electronic Wills, Electronic Estate Planning Documents, and Remote Witnesses Act (Illinois General Assembly); Nolo (secondary source): How to Make a Will in Illinois (Nolo), checked November 2026

• ConfirmedSelf-proving affidavit

  No separate affidavit is needed. Per Nolo's Illinois page, a will that is signed and witnessed correctly is self-proved without a self-proving affidavit, and a notary isn't needed to make the will legal.

  "Illinois allows your will to be self-proved without a self-proving affidavit"

  Source: Nolo (secondary source): How to Make a Will in Illinois (Nolo), checked November 2026

• ConfirmedIf the will is handwritten

  Not recognized, per Nolo's Illinois page.

  "Illinois does not permit handwritten (holographic) wills."

  Source: Nolo (secondary source): How to Make a Will in Illinois (Nolo), checked November 2026

• ConfirmedA witness who inherits

  A witness who stands to inherit under the will may lose that inheritance (Nolo, citing 755 ILCS 5/4-6).

  "A witness who stands to inherit under the will may lose the right to that inheritance."

  Source: Nolo (secondary source): How to Make a Will in Illinois (Nolo), checked November 2026

Documents to gather

• The last few years of tax returns
• Recent bills, loan and credit card statements
• Pension, Social Security and benefit letters
• Safe deposit box location and keys
• Certified death certificates
• The original will and any codicils
• Deeds and mortgage statements
• Vehicle titles and registrations
• Recent bank, brokerage and retirement statements
• Life insurance policies and annuities
• The official small estate form: Small Estate Affidavit (statutory form, 755 ILCS 5/25-1)

Who to notify

Pension or employer, Social Security (if the funeral home hasn't), Banks and credit unions, Brokerage and retirement accounts, Life insurance companies, Utilities and phone, Landlord or mortgage servicer, Credit card companies. Write once to each, enclose a death certificate copy, and record the reply.

Documents needed abroad

• ConfirmedA death certificate needed abroad

  Apostilles for this state's documents come from the Illinois Secretary of State. $2 for a certificate or apostille, with seal (state statute).

  Source: Illinois Secretary of State, checked November 2026

Where to ask

An estate attorney or the county probate/surrogate office answers questions about your situation. Official pages for Illinois:

• 24th Judicial Circuit of Illinois: Small Estate Affidavit form (PDF)
• Probate Shortcuts in Illinois (Nolo)

General information, not legal, tax or financial advice. We are not lawyers, and MCC Solutions is not a law firm. An estate attorney or the county probate/surrogate office answers questions about your situation. Facts checked November 2026.

Common questions

Related: Executor guide by state · Will signing requirements · Estate paperwork help