Illinois Small Estates: the small estate affidavit
The short answer
Illinois calls its simplified route the small estate affidavit, and it is set out in 755 ILCS 5/25-1. This applies to deaths on or after August 15, 2025. Registered vehicles don't count toward the limit. Illinois sets no waiting period for it. It does not transfer real estate. A house in the person’s sole name needs the court process instead. The current limit and the date we last read the statute are on the card below.
Illinois’ small estate affidavit
Illinois sets this out in 755 ILCS 5/25-1. This applies to deaths on or after August 15, 2025. Registered vehicles don't count toward the limit. The figure itself, and the date we last read that statute, are on the card below.[1]
Illinois
- Procedure:
- small estate affidavit
- Limit:
- $150,000
- Wait:
- none stated
- Real estate:
- not covered
This applies to deaths on or after August 15, 2025. Registered vehicles don't count toward the limit.
755 ILCS 5/25-1 — official page read September 18, 2026
It does not transfer real estate. A house in the person’s sole name needs the court process instead.[1]
The small estate affidavit is one piece of settling an estate in Illinois. Answer a few questions and Go Forward builds the rest of the list for your situation — the notifications, the accounts, the paperwork — in the order it needs doing.
Build my plan →Steps this page connects to: Check whether probate is required · Order certified death certificates · List what the estate holds
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Creditor claims under 755 ILCS 5/18-3, 5/18-12
Above the limit it is a regular Illinois probate case, and whoever the court appoints has to publish a notice to creditors in a local newspaper. The window for claims is at least 6 months after the notice is first published. All claims are cut off 2 years after the death.. Paying anyone out before that window closes can leave the person who paid personally liable.[2]
Illinois
- Published notice:
- required
- Claim window:
- at least 6 months after the notice is first published. All claims are cut off 2 years after the death.
755 ILCS 5/18-3, 5/18-12 — official page read September 18, 2026
Sources
- 755 ILCS 5/25-1 (small estate affidavit) — Illinois — official statute or court self-help page. Read September 18, 2026.
- 755 ILCS 5/18-3, 5/18-12 (notice to creditors) — Illinois — official statute or court self-help page. Read September 18, 2026.
Each state above links to the statute or court page we read, with the date we read it.
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