Executor of an Estate in Illinois: Duties, Deadlines, and Pay

Being named executor of an estate in Illinois is a legal job with deadlines and personal liability, not an honorary title. The Probate Act hands you three duties: collect the estate's assets, pay its legitimate debts in the order the statute sets, and distribute what is left to the people named in the will. Do those three things on the statutory clocks and probate is a process, not an ordeal. Miss the clocks, or pay the wrong people first, and the mistakes come out of your pocket. Here is the full job description: what to do in the first 30 days, every deadline with its statute, what you get paid, and the five mistakes that turn executors into defendants.

Your First 30 Days: A Checklist

Work this list in order. Nothing here requires a court appearance yet:

• Find and file the will. Whoever holds the original must file it with the circuit clerk within 30 days of learning of the death (755 ILCS 5/6-1). In DuPage County you file with the Eighteenth Judicial Circuit clerk in Wheaton. Willfully sitting on a will is a criminal offense, so file even if you are unsure probate is needed.
• Order at least 10 certified death certificates. Banks, insurers, the county recorder, and the Secretary of State each want an original.
• Secure everything. Lock the house, hold the mail, keep insurance on the home and cars in force, and photograph valuables. You are responsible for the assets from the moment you are appointed.
• Rough out assets and debts. A one-page list of accounts, property, and known bills tells you which track the estate is on.
• Do not start paying ordinary bills. Illinois ranks debts in classes, and paying the wrong ones first is one of the classic personal-liability traps covered below.
• Check whether you even need probate. For deaths on or after August 15, 2025, an estate with no real estate and personal property under $150,000 (excluding registered vehicles) can often skip probate entirely with a small estate affidavit (755 ILCS 5/25-1). Many older guides still quote the previous $100,000 limit.

Who Can Serve as Executor in Illinois

Before petitioning for letters of office, confirm the named executor actually qualifies. Illinois requires a person who is at least 18, a United States resident, not of unsound mind, not an adjudged person with a disability, and not convicted of a felony (755 ILCS 5/6-13). One nuance worth knowing: a person with a felony conviction can still serve if the testator named them knowingly, acknowledging the conviction in the will itself, and the conviction was not for financial exploitation offenses. If the named executor is disqualified or declines, the will's successor executor steps up, and if there is none, the court appoints an administrator with the same duties.

The Deadline Table Every Executor Should Print

Each deadline runs from a different starting point. Calendar all of them the week you are appointed:

The claims window is why even a clean, uncontested estate rarely closes in under 7 months, and why the full arc usually lands around a year. We map that month by month in our Illinois probate timeline.

Pay Debts in the Statutory Order, Not the Order They Arrive

Illinois ranks claims against the estate in seven classes, and you must pay by class (755 ILCS 5/18-10). The order that matters in most estates: funeral and burial expenses and costs of administration come first, then the surviving spouse's or child's statutory award, then debts owed the United States, then certain employee wages and last-illness expenses, then trust-fund monies, then debts to Illinois and local governments, and finally everything else, which is where the credit cards and medical collections live. Two operating rules keep you safe:

• If the estate might be short, pay nothing in a lower class until every higher class is satisfied. An insolvent estate pays a class pro rata, and an executor who paid Visa before the funeral home makes up the difference personally.
• Make disputed creditors file. A claim that is not filed within the 6-month window is barred. You do not owe barred claims, and you should not volunteer payment on them.

What an Executor Gets Paid in Illinois

Illinois does not use a percentage fee schedule. An executor is entitled to reasonable compensation for services (755 ILCS 5/27-1), and courts judge reasonableness on the time spent, the size and complexity of the estate, and the results. Three practical rules: keep a contemporaneous time log with dates and tasks, because the log is what makes your fee defensible; remember executor compensation is taxable income to you, while an inheritance is not, which changes the math if you are also a beneficiary; and know you can waive the fee, which family executors often do when the will already leaves them the bulk of the estate. Typical professional and court costs for the whole process are itemized in our breakdown of what probate costs in Illinois.

Independent vs Supervised Administration

Illinois gives executors a large gift called independent administration: you collect, pay, and distribute without asking the court's permission for each step, filing an accounting at the end (755 ILCS 5, Article XXVIII). Most DuPage County estates run this way, and it is a major reason Illinois probate is cheaper than its reputation. You end up in supervised administration, with the judge approving each sale and distribution, only if the will demands it, an interested person persuades the court it is needed, or the estate is contentious. If heirs are fighting, expect a petition to convert to supervised administration, and budget time accordingly.

Five Mistakes That Make Executors Personally Liable

• Distributing early. Handing heirs money before the 6-month claims window closes, then discovering a valid claim, is the classic one. The shortfall is yours.
• Paying debts out of class order in an estate that turns out to be short (755 ILCS 5/18-10).
• Self-dealing and commingling. Estate funds never touch your personal account, and you never buy estate property without full disclosure and consent or court approval.
• Missing tax filings. The decedent's final income tax return, the estate's income tax return if it earns income, and an Illinois estate tax return when the gross estate exceeds the $4 million Illinois threshold.
• No records. Every dollar in and out gets a receipt. The final accounting is a math problem, and it has to balance.

Conclusion: Three Duties, Three Clocks

Serving as executor of an estate in Illinois comes down to three duties done on three clocks: file the will within 30 days, inventory within 60 days of your letters, and hold distributions until the 6-month claims window closes. Add a time log, receipts for everything, and the statutory payment order, and you will close the estate in about a year with your own finances untouched. The role rewards the organized and punishes the casual, so decide on day one which executor you are going to be.

Sources: 755 ILCS 5/6-1 · 755 ILCS 5/6-13 · 755 ILCS 5/14-1 · 755 ILCS 5/18-3 · 755 ILCS 5/18-10 · 755 ILCS 5/27-1 · 755 ILCS 5/25-1