In Illinois, a revocable living trust is generally recommended for anyone who owns real estate or has assets exceeding $100,000. Unlike a will, a trust avoids Illinois probate (which can take 6-18 months and is a public proceeding), provides incapacity planning, and gives you more control over when and how assets are distributed.
A will is a legal document that specifies how your assets should be distributed after death, but to take effect, it must go through Illinois probate court. Probate in Illinois is a public proceeding that typically takes 6-18 months and costs 2-4% of the estate value in attorney and court fees. Anyone can view the probate record, including the assets and their values. For most Northern Suburbs families with significant real estate and investment holdings, probate is an expensive, slow, and unnecessary process.
A revocable living trust holds your assets during your lifetime and transfers them to beneficiaries at death outside of probate. You're typically your own trustee while alive, nothing changes operationally. You maintain complete control: you can amend the trust, add or remove assets, change beneficiaries, or revoke it entirely at any time while you're competent. At death, your successor trustee distributes assets according to the trust terms, typically within weeks rather than months, with no court involvement.
The trust also covers incapacity. If you become unable to manage your affairs, your successor trustee steps in immediately, no court proceedings required, no guardianship petition. A will provides no incapacity protection; a durable power of attorney is needed to cover that gap if you only have a will.
For Illinois residents with significant real estate, particularly those who own vacation property in another state, a trust eliminates the risk of ancillary probate. Without a trust, out-of-state real estate must go through probate in that state as well as Illinois, doubling the cost and complexity. A trust holds real estate from multiple states and transfers it all at once, privately.
Key facts
- Illinois probate: typically 6-18 months, 2-4% of estate value in costs, and is a public proceeding
- A revocable living trust avoids probate entirely for assets held in the trust
- Both a will and a trust require a financial power of attorney and healthcare power of attorney for complete coverage
- Illinois has a $4 million estate tax exemption, trusts can be structured to use both spouses' exemptions (an 'AB trust' or disclaimer trust design)
- Pour-over will: used alongside a trust to catch assets not transferred into the trust before death, these assets still go through probate
- Trustee fee for professional successor trustees in Illinois: typically 0.5-1.5% of trust assets annually
Do I still need a will if I have a trust?
Yes, you need both. A trust only controls assets that have been transferred into it (retitled in the trust's name). Assets that weren't transferred, a forgotten bank account, a newly purchased vehicle, pass through your will. The standard solution is a 'pour-over will' that directs any untitled assets into the trust at death. The pour-over will is a safety net, not a replacement for funding the trust.
How much does a revocable living trust cost in Illinois?
A well-drafted revocable living trust from an estate planning attorney in the Chicago area typically costs $2,000-$5,000 for a simple trust, or $4,000-$10,000+ for couples with complex situations (business interests, multiple properties, blended families, Illinois estate tax planning). The upfront cost is typically a fraction of the probate costs it eliminates, and it provides ongoing incapacity protection that a will can't.
