Petition to Probate a Will Requirements in Illinois

At a glance

Requirements one by one

Proceeding and venue

The ordinary opening filing is a Probate Act petition under 755 ILCS 5/6-2 to admit the will, with letters requested in the same proceeding when appropriate. Section 5-1 uses a three-step county hierarchy: known Illinois residence first; if none, the county holding the greater part of Illinois real estate; if there is no Illinois residence or real estate, the county holding the greater part of Illinois personal estate.

Who may file

Section 6-2 says “Anyone desiring to have a will admitted to probate” may file. That is broader than the named executor. The nominee has a separate duty under § 6-3: within 30 days after learning of the nomination, begin probate or declare a refusal to act. Without good cause, inaction can cost the nominee the right to serve.

Petition facts

The § 6-2 petition gives the decedent's residence at death and the date and place of death; the will's date and the petitioner's belief that it is the valid last will; approximate Illinois real- and personal-estate values; all heirs and legatees with addresses and minor-or-disability status; the executor's name and address; and, unless supervised administration is requested, the § 28-3 personal fiduciary. A trust beneficiary who is neither heir nor legatee may be omitted when the trust and trustee information satisfy the section's exception.

An electronic-will petition carries one extra assertion under 755 ILCS 6/20-5: the electronic will is tamper-evident and has not been altered apart from its signatures and normal communication, storage, and display information.

Original will and electronic copy

The production duty and the petition are distinct. Under 755 ILCS 5/6-1, the person possessing the will must file it immediately after death, whether or not that person is the eventual petitioner. Once admitted, § 6-7 keeps the original with the clerk unless the court orders otherwise. For an electronic record, 755 ILCS 6/10-5 says a certified paper copy satisfies a rule requiring the original form.

Three different timing rules

Illinois does not use one universal petition deadline. The will possessor's § 6-1 filing duty is immediate. The named executor's § 6-3 decision clock is 30 days after knowledge of the nomination. And once 30 days have passed after death without a petition, § 6-3 allows the court to proceed without one, unless probate is unnecessary and omission would not prejudice an interested person.

Proof routes

Under 755 ILCS 5/6-4, each of two attesting witnesses supplies the statutory signing or acknowledgment, presence, and sound-mind statements. Each witness may do that by court testimony, a signed attestation clause forming part of or attached to the will, or a signed affidavit made at or after attestation and associated with the will or an accurate facsimile.

Sections 6-5 and 6-6 keep probate from depending on one physical appearance. A witness outside the county or unable to attend may testify by commission and deposition. When the listed death, disability, absence, military-service, or out-of-state condition applies, the court may use handwriting proof and other admissible secondary evidence.

Notice and formal proof

Ordinary admission may occur before notice. Under 755 ILCS 5/6-10, the representative—or petitioner if there is none—then has no more than 14 days from the order to mail the petition and order to the listed heirs and legatees. Missing names or addresses trigger publication once a week for three successive weeks, beginning within the same 14-day window. The notice must carry the Supreme Court-prescribed explanation of formal-proof and contest rights.

Section 6-21 gives a person entitled to that notice 42 days from the effective date of the admission order to demand formal proof. At the hearing, the proponent must replace the written attestation-clause or affidavit shortcut with testimony, deposition, or other permitted evidence.

Executor, oath, bond, and letters

Sections 6-8 and 6-13 connect admission to appointment. Letters go to the named executor who qualifies and accepts, but the person must be at least 18, reside in the United States, be of sound mind, not be adjudged a person with a disability, not be currently incarcerated, and satisfy the felony restrictions. The felony exception requires all of § 6-13(c), not merely disclosure in the will.

Under 755 ILCS 5/12-2, an individual representative files an oath or affirmation and a court-approved bond before undertaking the office. If the will excuses bond, the statutory bond remains effective without a written instrument unless the court requires one. Section 6-13 separately lets the court require a nonresident executor's bond despite contrary will language. A qualified corporate representative instead files an acceptance, and § 12-1 exempts it from the Act's ordinary bonds.

What trips people up

The named executor's 30-day clock is not the only timing rule and does not limit who may petition. The will holder must file immediately, while § 6-2 allows anyone desiring probate to petition. A named executor who waits may lose the office even though the will itself can still be offered.

Post-order notice also does not mean the order is unreviewable. The notice must explain the separate 42-day formal-proof route, which can require the proponent to produce testimony or deposition even when an attestation clause or affidavit supported the initial admission.

A voluntary will-depository law begins January 1, 2027. Public Act 104-0719 adds 705 ILCS 105/16.2, under which a circuit-court clerk may establish a depository for original wills before death. After proof of death, the clerk may release the sealed will to a named executor; the act expressly says depositing the will does not give it greater validity, weight, or priority.

Common questions

Can the court act if nobody files a petition?

Yes, potentially. After 30 days from death, § 6-3 allows the court to probate the will without a petition unless probate is unnecessary and skipping it would not prejudice an interested person. The court directs notice of that hearing.

Does an out-of-county witness have to travel to the probate county?

Not necessarily. Section 6-5 permits a commission and sworn deposition when the witness lives outside the county or cannot attend but can be found and is able to testify.

Does a felony conviction always disqualify the named executor?

No. Section 6-13(c) has a narrow exception when the will expressly acknowledges the conviction, the nominee is not barred from receiving from the estate, the conviction is not one of the listed financial-exploitation or identity-theft offenses, and the nominee otherwise qualifies.

Statutes and sources

• 755 ILCS 5/5-1 — county hierarchy for probate and administration. https://www.ilga.gov/documents/legislation/ilcs/documents/075500050K5-1.htm (accessed 2026-08-03)
• 755 ILCS 5/6-1 to 6-3 — immediate will filing, production remedy, petitioner, petition facts, executor clock, and court action after 30 days. https://www.ilga.gov/documents/legislation/ilcs/documents/075500050K6-1.htm (accessed 2026-08-03)
• 755 ILCS 5/6-4 to 6-6 — two-witness statements, written and testimonial proof, deposition, handwriting, and secondary-evidence routes. https://www.ilga.gov/documents/legislation/ilcs/documents/075500050K6-4.htm, https://www.ilga.gov/documents/legislation/ilcs/documents/075500050K6-5.htm, and https://www.ilga.gov/documents/legislation/ilcs/documents/075500050K6-6.htm (accessed 2026-08-03)
• 755 ILCS 5/6-7 to 6-10, 6-13, and 6-21 — original custody, letters, notice, executor qualifications, and formal proof. https://www.ilga.gov/legislation/ILCS/details?MajorTopic=&Chapter=&ActName=Probate%20Act%20of%201975.&ActID=2104&ChapterID=60&ChapAct=755+ILCS+5%2F&SeqStart=8900000&SeqEnd=10400000&Print=True (accessed 2026-08-03)
• 755 ILCS 5/12-1 to 12-2 — corporate acceptance and bond exemption; individual oath, bond, and will-excused written-bond rule. https://www.ilga.gov/documents/legislation/ilcs/documents/075500050K12-1.htm and https://www.ilga.gov/documents/legislation/ilcs/documents/075500050K12-2.htm (accessed 2026-08-03)
• 755 ILCS 6/10-5 and 20-5 — certified paper copy and electronic-will petition assertion. https://www.ilga.gov/legislation/ILCS/details?ActID=4176&Print=True (accessed 2026-08-03)
• Public Act 104-0719 — enacted voluntary will-depository route, effective January 1, 2027. https://www.ilga.gov/legislation/PublicActs/View/104-0719 (accessed 2026-09-09)
• IL HB 4722 and SB 3269 — pending will-depository proposals. https://www.ilga.gov/Legislation/BillStatus?DocNum=4722&GAID=18&DocTypeID=HB&LegId=165777&SessionID=114 and https://www.ilga.gov/Legislation/BillStatus?DocNum=3269&GAID=18&DocTypeID=SB&LegId=166040&SessionID=114 (checked 2026-09-09)