Illinois Legal Calculators

Illinois doesn't use a statutory executor fee schedule—compensation is "reasonable" under 755 ILCS 5/27-2, with courts typically approving 2–5% of estate value depending on complexity. The bigger structural question in Illinois probate is supervised versus independent administration. Supervised administration requires court approval for almost every act; independent administration, available if the will authorizes it or all heirs agree, lets the executor act without seeking approval for routine distributions and sales. The difference can mean 6 months versus 18 months and tens of thousands of dollars in legal fees.

Illinois imposes a state estate tax on estates over $4M—one of the lowest exemptions in the country. The federal exemption is $13.61M (2024), so Illinois residents with estates between $4M and $13.61M owe Illinois tax but nothing federally. The top Illinois estate tax rate reaches 16%. That gap between state and federal exemptions makes Illinois a meaningful estate planning jurisdiction; portability and spousal bypass trusts that work cleanly federally may still trigger Illinois liability.

Spousal maintenance in Illinois uses a formula under 750 ILCS 5/504: (33.3% of the payor's net income) minus (25% of the payee's net income), capped so the payee receives no more than 40% of combined net income. Duration is calculated by multiplying the length of the marriage by a statutory factor—a 10-year marriage yields a factor of 0.5, so 5 years of maintenance. Illinois is an equitable distribution state under 750 ILCS 5/503; the state has no community property rules.