Free, statute-anchored, for self-represented trustees
The Trustee Learning Center
Learn what Illinois law actually provides — in plain language, on the real statutes — before you decide anything. The library states the law and recommends nothing.
The guides
Getting started · 6 min read
You were named successor trustee. What does Illinois law expect?
Accepting the office, the duties from day one, the two 90-day notices, and the estate beside the trust.
Core duties · 6 min read
The duty to inform and account under Illinois law
Who is kept informed, the 90-day notices, the instrument on request, the annual trust accounting and when it may be waived.
Core duties · 6 min read
Prudent administration and investing under Illinois law
The Illinois Prudent Investor Law, prudent administration, impartiality, loyalty and its presumptions, and how discretion is bounded.
Distributions · 6 min read
Distributions and "per stirpes" in Illinois
What Illinois's statutes say per stirpes means, the lapse rule for trust gifts, and the periods a trustee reads before distributing.
Compensation · 6 min read
How an Illinois trustee is paid
Reasonable compensation, the court's adjustment, the advance notice of a change, reimbursement and the accounting.
Working with others · 5 min read
Serving with co-trustees in Illinois
Majority decisions after written notice, participation, delegation to a co-trustee, dissent, the vacancy and the certification.
Working with others · 5 min read
Hiring help: delegation, agents and directing parties in Illinois
Delegating with care, the inquiry before an investment delegation, engaging professionals, and working under a directing party.
Records · 5 min read
Records and receipts: what an Illinois trustee keeps
Adequate records, separation, the trust's name on the accounts, seven years after termination, and the accounting that rests on them.
Working with others · 6 min read
When beneficiaries disagree: Illinois's options
Settling by agreement, going to the circuit court, removal, remedies, fees and the time limits.
Closing · 6 min read
Ending a trust under Illinois law
When a trust ends, the small-trust termination, distribution and the reserve, the final accounting, the unclaimed-property search and the seven-year record.
The library, by question
What does the role ask of me?
Notices and accountings
Money: fees and costs
Timelines, property, and closing
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The Learning Center is general information about Illinois law — not legal advice, and not a substitute for advice from a licensed Illinois attorney about your specific facts. TrusteeClear is software, not a law firm.