The title company will not close, the agent wants a signature, and the house is still in your parent’s name. We represent executors, administrators and heirs in DuPage County on every real estate step of a probate estate, from the authority to sell to the recorded deed.
Serving DuPage County families since 1990 · Villa Park office · 18th Judicial Circuit, Wheaton · Free consultation
A probate real estate attorney in DuPage County handles the part of an estate that ordinary closing attorneys and real estate agents cannot: the court authority behind the sale. When a house is titled in a deceased person’s name alone, nobody can sign a listing agreement, a contract or a deed until the DuPage County court issues Letters of Office to a representative. Chris J. Aiello, P.C. has closed real estate and administered estates in DuPage County since 1990.
This page covers real estate inside a probate estate. A sale between living owners is a standard transaction, handled on our residential closing page. If you want the full step-by-step of how an estate sale runs, read our guide to selling a house in probate in Illinois; this page is about what we do for you inside that process, and what it costs.
A house is usually the largest asset in a DuPage County estate and the one most likely to stall. These are the situations that bring executors and heirs to us.
Title companies will not insure a sale signed by someone without Letters of Office, or a supervised-estate sale without a court order. We get the authority in place, and we deal with the title underwriter’s requirements so the closing date holds.
Joint tenancy, a transfer on death instrument, or a funded trust would have moved the house without probate. A deed in one name alone means a probate estate, and the representative, not the heirs, takes possession and sells or transfers it (755 ILCS 5/20-1).
Real estate specifically left to someone, or that the will says to keep, can only be sold if it is necessary to pay claims, expenses or taxes, or to distribute the estate properly (755 ILCS 5/20-4). We tell you whether that is your situation before anyone lists it.
The representative keeps paying the mortgage and taxes during administration, and the court can order a sale free of liens with the liens paid from the proceeds (755 ILCS 5/20-6).
One heir wants to sell, one wants to keep it, one lives in it. Independent administration gives the representative authority to act; supervised administration gives the court the final say. We explain which track you are on and what each heir can and cannot force.
A representative generally cannot take possession of a home an heir occupies as a residence without a court finding that it is necessary (755 ILCS 5/20-1). Out-of-state heirs need documents handled by mail and remote signing.
Sales of estate real estate run under Article XX; independent administration, which lets a representative sell without a court order, runs under Article XXVIII. Ask which applies to your estate. If the answer is a shrug, keep looking.
Some probate attorneys petition for leave to sell and then hand the closing to someone else. We prepare the representative’s deed, handle the title commitment, and sit at the closing table, so nothing falls between two law firms.
Under independent administration the representative may sell at public or private sale without a court order (755 ILCS 5/28-8). Under supervised administration the sale needs a petition, notice and an order (755 ILCS 5/20-4 and 5/20-5). Knowing which you have decides your timeline.
Supervised sale petitions are heard at the DuPage Judicial Center in Wheaton, and the deed is recorded with the DuPage County Recorder. Counsel who already practices there knows the clerk’s requirements and the judges’ expectations.
The closing work on an estate sale is a defined scope and should be quoted like any residential closing. Court petitions and disputes are not, and an honest firm will separate the two in writing.
Setting these expectations up front saves families money and arguments.
We confirm how the house is titled, open the estate if it is not open, and obtain Letters of Office for the representative. Where the will and the family allow it, we ask for independent administration in the opening petition (755 ILCS 5/28-2), which lets the representative take possession of, lease and sell the real estate without a court order (755 ILCS 5/28-8). If the estate is supervised, we prepare the petition for leave to sell with the legal description, value, liens and proposed contract, with notice to every interested party (755 ILCS 5/20-5).
We order the title commitment, identify the mortgage, tax and judgment liens, and resolve what the sale will not clear. The court can determine title and remove clouds in a supervised sale (755 ILCS 5/20-6), and our title issue attorneys handle the rest.
If the house is being sold, we review the contract, prepare the representative’s deed, and address the additional bond the Act can require before a representative sells real estate (755 ILCS 5/12-9). If the house is being kept, we prepare the deed distributing it to the heirs or legatees, which can leave them as co-owners; heirs who later cannot agree may compel partition in the circuit court (735 ILCS 5/17-101), so we say so before the deed is signed.
Proceeds are deposited to the estate account. Liens are paid at closing, the claims period runs, taxes are handled with the estate’s accountant, and the balance is distributed with the rest of the estate. The deed is recorded with the DuPage County Recorder. A buyer from a representative takes the same title as if the decedent had signed, and the sale stands even if the will is later set aside (755 ILCS 5/20-15).
We quote after the free consultation, once we know how the house is titled, whether the estate is independent or supervised, and what is on title. The closing side of an estate sale is a defined scope and is quoted flat, the same way we quote any residential closing in DuPage County. Disputes between heirs, contested petitions and title litigation are billed hourly.
Attorney fees for administering the estate, including the real estate work, are an expense of the estate paid from estate assets, and they appear in the accounting the heirs receive. Illinois sets no fixed percentage for probate fees; fees have to be reasonable for the actual work done.
Chris J. Aiello, P.C. is a Villa Park, Illinois law firm founded in 1990. Attorneys Chris J. Aiello and John Pizinger have spent their careers in real estate, probate and estate planning for DuPage County families. That combination is the point of this page: the lawyer who obtains the court’s authority is the lawyer who prepares the deed and closes the sale. You work directly with an attorney, not a case manager.
From our Villa Park office we represent executors, administrators and heirs throughout DuPage County and the western suburbs, including Elmhurst, Lombard, Wheaton, Oak Brook, Downers Grove, Addison and Oak Park. Estate matters are heard in the 18th Judicial Circuit at the DuPage Judicial Center, 505 N. County Farm Road, Wheaton, and deeds are recorded with the DuPage County Recorder.
Under independent administration, yes: the representative may sell estate real estate at public or private sale without a court order or the heirs’ consent (755 ILCS 5/28-8), subject to the will and to the representative’s duty to act in the estate’s best interest. Any interested person can ask the court to convert the estate to supervised administration, which puts the sale under court approval.
Only in supervised administration, where the petition describes the property, its approximate value and the proposed contract, and the court enters an order authorizing the sale on the terms it directs (755 ILCS 5/20-4 and 5/20-5). In independent administration there is no court hearing on price.
The court-appointed representative, in that capacity, signs a representative’s deed, often called an executor’s deed or administrator’s deed. Heirs do not sign unless the property has first been distributed to them. The buyer receives the same title as if the decedent had signed (755 ILCS 5/20-15).
It is deposited to the estate account and stays there until creditor claims are resolved and administration expenses and taxes are paid. Unknown creditors have 6 months from the first published notice to file claims (755 ILCS 5/18-3).
Yes. The representative is responsible for keeping the property in repair and paying the taxes, mortgage and liens during administration (755 ILCS 5/20-1), and may lease it with court authorization or, in independent administration, on the terms the representative deems advisable (755 ILCS 5/20-2 and 5/28-8). Rent is estate income and goes into the estate account.
No. The Illinois small estate affidavit transfers personal property only, up to $150,000 excluding registered vehicles, and never real estate (755 ILCS 5/25-1).
A free consultation covers how the house is titled, which administration track the estate is on, and what the real estate work will cost. No obligation.