When Is Probate Required in Illinois?

Real property is outside this procedure in Illinois — it reaches personal property only, and real estate transfers separately. Real estate held in a trust, or otherwise titled to pass outside the probate estate, transfers without probate. A transfer-on-death deed recorded before death also passes real estate outside probate755 ILCS 27/1 to 27/95Verified Oct 17, 2026View source in Illinois. The Illinois trust vs. will comparison sets the two routes side by side.

In Illinois, the assets that pass outside probate are property held in a living trust, accounts with a named beneficiary (retirement accounts, life insurance, payable-on-death bank accounts), real estate with a recorded transfer-on-death deed755 ILCS 27/1 to 27/95Verified Oct 17, 2026View source, and property owned jointly with right of survivorship. Everything the decedent owned alone, with no beneficiary named, is the probate estate.

In Illinois, a simple estate typically takes 6 months to 9 months through probate, and an average estate 9 months to 14 months. An estate with a dispute, real estate in another state or an unusual asset runs longer. The creditor claim period of 6 months755 ILCS 5/18-3 (claim date not less than 6 months from first publication, or 3 months from mailing, whichever is later); 5/18-12(b) (2-year outer bar from death)Verified Sep 8, 2026View source sets the floor: final distribution waits for it to run.

The common ways to avoid probate in Illinois are a funded revocable living trust, beneficiary designations on accounts, recording a transfer-on-death deed for real estate755 ILCS 27/1 to 27/95Verified Oct 17, 2026View source, and titling property as joint tenants with right of survivorship. A trust covers every asset titled to it in one document; the other routes work asset by asset.