Insolvent Probate Estate Claim-Payment Priority in Illinois
At a glance
| Statutory payment order | Seven classes under 5/18-10; representative pays by class, subject to 5/19-6 business-assets exception (5/18-13). |
|---|---|
| Administration costs | First class with funeral/burial, statutory custodial claims and specified guardianship costs (5/18-10). |
| Funeral and last illness | Funeral/burial first; necessary medical, hospital and nursing-home care in year before death fourth (5/18-10). |
| Family and homestead allowances | Surviving spouse's or child's award second class (5/18-10). |
| Taxes and public claims | Federal debts third; Illinois and specified local-government debts sixth (5/18-10). |
| Secured claims | 5/18-10 classifies estate claims; its seven classes do not specify allocation of collateral proceeds. |
| Support and special debts | Fourth class: employee pay up to $800 each for work within four months before death; fifth untraceable trust funds; business assets have separate priority (5/18-10; 5/19-6(a)). |
| General claims | Seventh class all other claims (5/18-10). |
| Underfunded class | Insufficient estate pays claims within a class pro rata (5/18-13). |
Requirements one by one
First class and recent expenses
The first class in § 5/18-10 combines funeral and burial expenses with administration costs, statutory custodial claims and specified guardianship costs. Its funeral definition includes a reasonable burial place or marker and care of that place. The fourth class covers necessary medical, hospital and nursing-home care in the year before death, plus each employee's pay up to $800 for work in the last four months.
Continued business and class shortfall
Section 5/18-13 orders class-by-class payment and requires pro rata payment if a class cannot be paid in full. It expressly yields to § 5/19-6(a), under which obligations incurred in continuing the decedent's business have priority against that business's assets; extending liability beyond those assets requires prior court approval.
What trips people up
The spouse's or child's award is class 2, ahead of federal debts in class 3. Illinois and specified local-government debts are class 6. The claim-class list does not determine the enforcement of a particular lien against collateral.
Common questions
Do funeral expenses have a dollar cap in the first class? Section 5/18-10 names qualifying funeral and burial expenses and reasonable associated costs, but does not state a general first-class dollar cap.
Where do claims outside the preferred groups go? Section 5/18-10 assigns all other claims to class 7.
Statutes and sources
- 755 Ill. Comp. Stat. 5/18-10, 5/18-13, and 5/19-6(a). Verbatim current official text, URLs, and access dates appear in the source fields above.
Source links
Every statute quoted above, linked, with the date we checked it.
What does Illinois law mean for your facts?
You just read the general rule. Ask your own question and see which parts of current Illinois law apply to your situation, with citations you can check.
Opens in Ezel Pro.
- Starts from the statutes this survey is built on
- Cites every source it relies on, so you can verify it
- Chat, drafting and research in one workspace