Illinois Small Estate Affidavit

Illinois small estate rules at a glance

Can you use it?

You can generally use the Illinois shortcut when all of these are true:

• The probate estate is $150,000 or less (personal estate, not counting registered vehicles, for deaths on or after August 15, 2025).
• Timing: no waiting period in the statute.
• No one has been appointed, or applied to be appointed, executor or administrator.
• Real estate: no. The affidavit covers personal property only.

Other Illinois rules

• Motor homes, campers, commercial vehicles and farm implements are not excluded; their value counts toward the $150,000.
• The affidavit lists every heir or legatee and what each receives, and you must distribute accordingly.

How to use the Illinois affidavit

1. Add up the probate estate. List what the person owned in their name alone, with no beneficiary or surviving joint owner, at its value on the date of death.
2. Check the timing. No waiting period in the statute.
3. Get the paperwork. Use Cook County form CCP 0248, Small Estate Affidavit.
4. Sign it under oath, usually before a notary, listing each person entitled to the property and their share.
5. Give it to each holder. Hand a copy, with a certified death certificate, to each bank, broker or other holder. They pay or transfer what they hold.
6. Pay debts and distribute. Pay the funeral and valid debts, then distribute under the will or Illinois's intestacy law. If you take more than your share, the other heirs and creditors can come after you for it.

The person's final income tax return is still due by April 15 of the year after the death. See the final tax returns guide, and Form 1310 to claim a refund without an executor.

A car title moves through the state's motor vehicle office, which has its own forms: see how to transfer a car title after death.

If the estate is over the limit

Then the estate goes through probate: the court appoints an executor, who gets letters testamentary (or letters of administration when there is no will) and settles the estate. Illinois's court and forms are in the probate forms by state table. In Illinois, creditors have this long to claim: the date in the notice: at least 6 months after first publication, or 3 months after a mailed notice if later. See how long probate takes in Illinois.

Use the probate cost calculator to estimate the court, attorney and executor fees.

Illinois taxes on a small estate

Illinois has an estate tax, but its exemption is far above any small estate limit, so a small estate won't owe it. See Illinois estate tax.

Small estate affidavits in other states

Alabama · Alaska · Arizona · Arkansas · California · Colorado · Connecticut · Delaware · District of Columbia · Florida · Georgia · Hawaii · Idaho · Indiana · Iowa · Kansas · Kentucky · Louisiana · Maine · Maryland · Massachusetts · Michigan · Minnesota · Mississippi · Missouri · Montana · Nebraska · Nevada · New Hampshire · New Jersey · New Mexico · New York · North Carolina · North Dakota · Ohio · Oklahoma · Oregon · Pennsylvania · Rhode Island · South Carolina · South Dakota · Tennessee · Texas · Utah · Vermont · Virginia · Washington · West Virginia · Wisconsin · Wyoming

Or compare them all in the 50-state table.

Related guides

• Letters testamentary: how executors get them, by state
• What is probate? How it works, step by step
• How long does probate take? Timeline by state
• Probate cost calculator: fees by state
• Probate court forms by state
• Transfer a car title after death, by state
• Executor checklist: what to do when someone dies
• Form 1310: claiming a deceased person's tax refund