Executor Resignation and Removal Requirements in Illinois

At a glance

Requirements one by one

Resignation is a petition-and-order process

Under § 23-1, the representative petitions the court, and the court may permit resignation. The court may hear the petition without notice or after notice to the people and in the manner it directs. The statute states no fixed notice period or consent route. If permission is granted, the court must revoke the representative's letters.

Any interested person may petition, and the court may act itself

Section § 23-2 gives any interested person petition standing and permits the court to proceed on its own motion. It states no separate petition right for the bond surety, but expressly makes conduct endangering the surety or a corepresentative a removal ground.

Every current ground uses the discretionary word “may.” The list covers letters secured by false pretenses; adjudication for involuntary admission or as a person with a disability; felony conviction; waste or mismanagement; danger to a corepresentative or surety; failure to provide ordered bond, security, countersecurity, or a new bond; failure to file an ordered inventory or accounting; concealment that defeats process or notice; incapacity or unsuitability; other good cause; and becoming a nonresident of the United States.

Removal requires citation, notice, and a hearing

Before removal, § 23-3(a) requires a citation stating the cause and directing the representative to show cause. It must be served like a civil summons at least 10 days before the return day, and the address recorded with the clerk is a service address.

When an affidavit shows the respondent is out of Illinois, concealed, or cannot be found after due inquiry—or an own-motion citation is not served— § 23-3(b) requires the clerk's substitute notice. Registered-mail copies go to the affidavit address if supplied, the address in the last filed document, and counsel of record at least 15 days before the return day.

The representative may plead by the return day or later if the court permits. After the hearing, § 23-3(c) still says the court “may” remove and revoke letters if it finds a Section 23-2 cause. Article XXIII states no separate suspension, temporary restriction, or prehearing removal route.

Revocation triggers a court-timed account, not automatic discharge

Under § 24-1, revoked letters require the representative to prepare and present a verified account within the time the court directs. The account must state receipts, disbursements, and property on hand with the evidence the court requires. If the representative fails or refuses, § 24-14 lets the bond surety present an account on the representative's behalf.

Section § 24-18 keeps both representative and surety liable to the successor, a corepresentative, or an aggrieved person for mismanagement. The claim may reach money or property withheld, wasted, embezzled, or misapplied. These removal provisions state no special compensation, reserve, or bond- release rule.

Successor appointment uses the ordinary preference and notice rules

Section § 9-3 orders administration and will-annexed preferences from the surviving spouse or nominee through legatees, descendants, parents, siblings, kindred, the representative of a deceased entitled person, the Public Administrator, and a creditor. A removed representative expressly loses the right to name a successor.

For administration de bonis non, § 9-4 requires the petition to state the reason new letters are needed. Under § 9-5(a), people with an equal or prior right to administer or nominate must receive the petition and hearing details at least 30 days before the hearing.

If a contingency delays ordinary letters and the estate faces waste, loss, or embezzlement, § 10-1 permits an interested-person petition or court-own- motion appointment of an administrator to collect. Selection is discretionary, with due consideration to the will's named executor or the Section 9-3 preferences.

Article XXIII gives no special appeal or reinstatement route

Sections § 23-1 and § 23-3 make revocation of letters the operative transition after permitted resignation or ordered removal. The surveyed provisions state no special appeal, stay, temporary-on-appeal, or reinstatement rule. The successor proceeds under new letters while the former representative's Section 24-1 account and Section 24-18 liability remain.

A guardian-only amendment arrives in 2027

Enacted P.A. 104-547, § 5 / HB 3811 takes effect January 1, 2027. It adds a Section 23-2 ground for a private professional guardian's failure to comply with Section 11a-26 and renumbers the catch-all good-cause ground. Because this survey excludes guardianship and addresses ordinary decedent-estate representatives, the amendment does not change the answer summarized above.

What trips people up

The statute mandates the citation and substitute-notice steps, not removal. Even after the court finds a listed ground, Section 23-3 says it may remove the representative and revoke the letters.

Resignation does not become effective merely because a representative files a letter. Section 23-1 requires a petition and court permission, and the granted petition leads to revocation of the letters.

Common questions

Can a removed representative choose the replacement? No. Section 9-3 expressly removes that person's right to name a successor.

What if the representative cannot be personally served? Section 23-3 supplies registered-mail substitute notice to the addresses in the affidavit and court record and to counsel, at least 15 days before the return day.

Can the surety file the missing account? Yes. Section 24-14 permits the surety to present an account when letters have been revoked and the representative misses the court-set deadline.

Statutes and sources

• 755 ILCS 5/9-3 to 9-5 and 10-1 — Successor preference, de-bonis-non petition and notice, and administrator-to-collect protection. — https://www.ilga.gov/legislation/ILCS/details?ActID=2104&ActName=Probate+Act+of+1975.&ChapAct=FullText&Chapter=ESTATES&ChapterID=60&MajorTopic=RIGHTS+AND+REMEDIES&SeqStart=&Print=True (accessed 2026-08-28)
• 755 ILCS 5/23-1 to 23-3 — Court-approved resignation, discretionary removal grounds, standing, citation, substitute notice, hearing, and revocation. — https://www.ilga.gov/legislation/ilcs/documents/075500050K23-1.htm, https://www.ilga.gov/legislation/ilcs/documents/075500050K23-2.htm, and https://www.ilga.gov/legislation/ilcs/documents/075500050K23-3.htm (accessed 2026-08-28)
• 755 ILCS 5/24-1, 24-14, and 24-18 — Revocation account, surety-filed account, and continuing representative/surety liability. — https://www.ilga.gov/legislation/ILCS/details?ActID=2104&ActName=Probate+Act+of+1975.&ChapAct=FullText&Chapter=ESTATES&ChapterID=60&MajorTopic=RIGHTS+AND+REMEDIES&SeqStart=&Print=True (accessed 2026-08-28)
• Illinois P.A. 104-547 / HB 3811 — Enacted July 10, 2026, effective January 1, 2027; adds the private-professional-guardian ground. — https://ilga.gov/legislation/PublicActs/View/104-0547 and https://ilga.gov/Legislation/BillStatus?DocNum=3811&GAID=18&DocTypeID=HB&LegId=162688&SessionID=114 (accessed 2026-09-09)