Illinois Probate Records

Portal:United States Probate >Illinois

Record Synopsis
Probate encompasses all matters and proceedings pertaining to the administration of estates, whether there is a will (testate) or not (intestate). Various types of records are created throughout the probate process. These may include, wills, bonds, petitions, accounts, inventories, administrations, orders, decrees, and distributions. These documents are extremely valuable to genealogists and should not be neglected. In many instances, they are the only known source of relevant information such as the decedent’s date of death, names of his or her spouse, children, parents, siblings, in-laws, neighbors, associates, relatives, and their places of residence. They may also include information about adoption or guardianship of minor children and dependents.

Probate records in Illinois have been recorded by probate courts in larger counties or by county courts in less populated counties. Since the 1960s, probate matters have been in the circuit courts’ jurisdiction. For counties where the probate records are not available on microfilm from the Family History Library, contact the Clerk of the Circuit Court or an Illinois Regional Archives Depository (IRAD).

The Family History Library has microfilmed many Illinois probate records, generally from the date of the county’s creation until the early 1900s. Probate records may include such documents as wills, letters of administration, guardianships, probate journals, probate packets, and adoptions. The probate packets, which contain all documents pertaining to a probate case, have the most genealogical information, but are not always available at the Family History Library.

Probate records may not give an exact death date, but the death most often occurred within a few months of the date of probate. Wills usually mention the names of heirs and frequently specify how those heirs are related. Names of children are given, as well as married names of daughters.

See United States Probate Records for more information on probate records and their genealogical value.

Probate records can be found in the Family History Library Catalog by using a Place Search under:

ILLINOIS- PROBATE RECORDS

ILLINOIS, [COUNTY]- PROBATE RECORDS

ILLINOIS, [COUNTY]- GUARDIANSHIP

Web Sites

• DeathIndexes.com provides links to several Illinois probate records.
• Records in the Illinois Regional Archives Depositories includes some online Illinois probate indexes.