2025 New Illinois Probate And Estate Planning Laws

  • Estate Planning
  • Illinois Probate Law
2025 new Illinois probate and estate planning laws | estate and probate legal group

With the new year comes new legislation regarding Illinois probate and estate planning laws. It is wise to be aware of these laws, but your probate and estate planning attorney will understand them completely and help you adjust your probate or estate planning as needed. Estate planning and probate can be intertwined or completely separate – it is your choice. It is possible to have one attorney who can help you build your estate plan and then help your loved ones through the probate process.

Using an estate planning attorney to build your plan and update it every 3-5 years is wise. And, the probate process can be long and expensive, but with the help of an attorney, it does not have to be exceptionally difficult. As you can see, having an attorney to help you with one or both situations is beneficial to you and your loved ones.

New Illinois Probate Laws

The laws are ever-changing, including probate laws. Probate is the legal process of closing the estate of a deceased person. This includes assigning an executor or administrator of the will. The executor also pays all debts before transferring the assets to the beneficiaries.

Probate can take an average of 6-12 months for a fairly simple estate and longer for a more complex one. The courts oversee the process and ensure the executor or administrator follows the deceased’s final wishes, as stated in their will.

  • The Illinois Probate Act of 1975 outlined the procedures for providing a will, appointing executors and distributing assets. This law has been continuously updated; and the latest update was introduced on January 9, 2025. This update provides that if guardianship over a person is necessary and applied for by someone not legally related to the person, then the court shall appoint the state or county guardian as a Temporary Guardian. Other people who may apply for guardianship may include other persons, corporations or non-profit organizations.

This means that the state will appoint a guardian to a person when their family is unable or unwilling to do so. If you apply for guardianship over someone you are not legally related to, the courts will first appoint a State or County guardian until they review your request.

New Illinois Estate Planning Laws

Estate planning involves more than a will or trust. At a minimum, an estate plan should include:

  • A Will or Trust. Several differences exist between a will and a trust, but both assign beneficiaries to your assets after you pass away.
  • Power of Attorney. This legal document allows you to give power to another person to act on your behalf when you cannot. Perhaps you are out of the country or injured and unconscious. In these cases, the Power of Attorney would take effect and allow the person to pay your bills or other assignments.
  • Healthcare Directive. A Healthcare Directive tells your loved ones and your doctors your medical wishes. If you become injured, ill or at the end of your life, the directive will tell everyone how to handle your medical situations. These can include if you do not want donated blood, if you have a DNR (Do Not Resuscitate) and more. A Healthcare Directive takes the burden of these tough decisions off of your loved ones.

Other documents to consider in your estate plan include your retirement plans, life insurance and investment accounts. These are often not included in the will due to the fact that they already have named beneficiaries. You were asked to name your beneficiaries when you established your life insurance. If you accidentally list your life insurance policy in your will and with different beneficiaries, the courts must intervene and settle this dispute. The courts will rule in favor of the beneficiaries listed on the life insurance policy, not the will. But this will cause a delay and perhaps other legal disputes.

Here are some new laws in estate planning that you may want to know about

  • On August 9, 2024, the Senate signed a bill into law that amends certain sections of the Illinois Trust Code. Sections 809 and 810 currently state that the trustee must take reasonable steps to take control and protect the trust property and create recordkeeping duties. The new bill states that in addition to taking steps to control and protect the property, the trustee must also search for and claim any unclaimed or presumptively abandoned property.

The second part of the new bill states that the trustee must keep all records pertaining to the trust for at least 7 years after the trust is dissolved.

  • The Illinois Power of Attorney Act took effect on January 1, 2025. This act states that it is unlawful for a third party to unreasonably refuse to accept an individual Illinois short-term power of attorney. One point of defining ‘unreasonable to refuse’ is not accepting the short form of power of attorney for property because the form is not what they usually receive.

Working With An Experienced Probate And Estate Attorney

An experienced probate attorney can help explain the probate process and help you through it. Perhaps you only have some questions – a probate attorney can answer them for you. Or, maybe you need someone to completely take over the probate process – an experienced attorney can do that, too. Some things the probate attorney can do are:

  • educate you on the process
  • appear in court on your behalf
  • settle any disputes before they become legal fights
  • represent you in case there is a legal fight
  • ensure the probate process is being correctly followed

Working with a probate attorney can help alleviate the stress of the probate process.

Oak Brook Probate and Estate Planning Attorney

If you have questions about probate, estate planning or the new laws, please contact us to schedule a free consultation. Whether you have concerns about your probate case or need to update your estate plan, we can help. Call us at 630-864-5835.

Areas we serve:  Cook, DuPage, Kane, Lake, Kendall and Will counties