Get a tailored starting point in a few minutes.
Start the free role check- 1
Confirm your role
Read the Trust instrument to confirm you are in fact the acting Trustee, what powers you have, and what the Trust directs. Note any amendments or restatements.
- 2
Secure the documents
Locate the original Trust and any amendments, and gather related documents (deeds, account statements, and — where applicable — a death certificate).
- 3
Identify and safeguard assets
Make an inventory of what the Trust owns and take reasonable steps to protect it. Do not commingle Trust assets with your own.
- 4
Identify the beneficiaries
Determine who the qualified beneficiaries are — each current beneficiary and each presumptive remainder beneficiary (760 ILCS 3/103). You'll owe them the notices and, generally, the trust accountings.
- 5
Handle required notices
Illinois law provides for two notices to the qualified beneficiaries within 90 days — one of the Trust becoming irrevocable, one after you accept the trusteeship (760 ILCS 3/813.1). Get the sequence and timing right.
- 6
Don't rush distributions
Understand the Trust terms and your obligations before paying anyone. Premature or incorrect distributions are a common source of Trustee liability.
The short answer · 10 min read
Named as an Illinois trustee: read the trust, then decide — accepting is by the trust's method or by acting as trustee, and silence for 120 days after notice is a declination (760 ILCS 3/701). After accepting, secure the property (760 ILCS 3/809), keep records (760 ILCS 3/810) and send the 90-day notices to the qualified beneficiaries (760 ILCS 3/813.1).
Last reviewed against the Illinois Statutes and updated on 2026-10-11.
Before you act: read, then decide
Read the trust instrument and every amendment. A designated trustee accepts by the method the trust provides or, where it provides none or its method is not expressly exclusive, by accepting delivery of the property, exercising powers or performing duties as trustee; one who does not accept within 120 days after receiving notice of the designation is deemed to have declined (760 ILCS 3/701). Before deciding, a designee may act to preserve the property — sending a declination within the 120 days if declining — and may inspect it (760 ILCS 3/701(c)).
The two beginnings, and what each asks of you
Illinois counts the trustee's first notices from two events. Within 90 days after accepting, the trustee notifies each qualified beneficiary of the acceptance and of the trustee's name, address and telephone number (760 ILCS 3/813.1(d)(1)(A)). Within 90 days of the trust becoming irrevocable — by the settlor's death or otherwise — or of the acceptance if no trustee was then acting, the trustee notifies them of the trust's existence, the right to request a complete copy of the instrument (or only the beneficiary's portions, where the instrument so provides), and whether the beneficiary has a right to receive or request trust accountings (760 ILCS 3/813.1(b)(1)).
The documents to find in the first week
The trust and every amendment; the settlor's will, which whoever holds it files with the circuit court clerk immediately upon the death (755 ILCS 5/6-1); the death certificate; deeds, titles and account statements; beneficiary designations; recent tax returns; any letters of office issued to a representative. The court issues no letters of trusteeship for a living trust; the certification of trust is the document most banks and title companies ask for (760 ILCS 3/1013).
Assets by how they are titled
Property titled to the trust is administered by the trustee; real property is in the trust only by a written instrument of conveyance to the trustee (760 ILCS 3/115). Property in the settlor's own name passes through the probate estate unless a beneficiary designation, joint ownership, a transfer on death instrument (755 ILCS 27/20) or the small estate affidavit (755 ILCS 5/25-1) moves it. A will that pours property into the trust adds it after probate (755 ILCS 5/4-4). Retirement accounts and life insurance follow their designations.
The beneficiaries, and what they are owed
A qualified beneficiary is each current beneficiary and each presumptive remainder beneficiary (760 ILCS 3/103). On a qualified beneficiary's reasonable request, the trustee promptly furnishes a complete copy of the trust instrument (760 ILCS 3/813.1(b)(6)); at least annually, the trustee sends the trust accounting 760 ILCS 3/813.1(b)(2) describes to all current beneficiaries and all presumptive remainder beneficiaries. A qualified beneficiary may waive the information in writing and later withdraw the waiver (760 ILCS 3/813.1(g)).
Illinois trustee deadlines: what the statutes provide
Reviewed against the Illinois Statutes on 2026-10-11. General information, not legal advice; the official text controls.
| When | Timing | What the statute provides | To whom | Statute |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| You receive notice that you are named trustee | Within 120 days after receiving notice of the designation; a designated trustee who does not accept within those 120 days is deemed to have declined. | Accept by substantially complying with a method of acceptance the trust instrument provides or — where it provides none, or its method is not expressly exclusive — by accepting delivery of the trust property, exercising powers or performing duties as trustee, or otherwise indicating acceptance. Without accepting, a designated trustee may act to preserve the property if a declination is sent within the 120 days, and may inspect or investigate it. | — | 760 ILCS 3/701 ↗ |
| You accept | At once and throughout; no day-count. | Administer the trust in good faith, in accordance with its purposes and the terms of the trust, and in accordance with the Illinois Trust Code. | — | 760 ILCS 3/801 ↗ |
| You accept | At once and throughout; no day-count. | Take reasonable steps to take control of and protect the trust property, including searching for and, if practicable, claiming any unclaimed property (as amended by P.A. 104-116 from January 1, 2026). Where a corporation serves as co-trustee with individuals, the corporate trustee has custody unless all the trustees agree otherwise. | — | 760 ILCS 3/809 ↗ |
| You accept | Throughout; no day-count. | Keep adequate records of the administration, keep trust property separate from your own, and — unless you are a regulated bank — cause the trust property to be designated so that the trust's interest, to the extent feasible, appears in a third party's records. | — | 760 ILCS 3/810 ↗ |
| You accept | Within a reasonable time after the acceptance; no day-count. | Review the trust assets and make and implement decisions about the retention and disposition of the original investments, to conform to the Illinois Prudent Investor Law. | — | 760 ILCS 3/904 ↗ |
| The trust becomes irrevocable — at the settlor's death, where it was revocable until then | Within 90 days of the trust becoming irrevocable; or, if no trustee was then acting, within 90 days of the trustee's acceptance. | Notify each qualified beneficiary of the trust's existence, of the beneficiary's right to request a complete copy of the trust instrument (or, if the instrument so provides, only the portion that sets forth the terms in which the beneficiary has an interest), and of whether the beneficiary has a right to receive or request trust accountings. The section applies to a trust that became irrevocable, or a trustee who accepted, after January 1, 2020; an older trust follows 760 ILCS 3/813.2. | Each qualified beneficiary (760 ILCS 3/103(30)) | 760 ILCS 3/813.1(b)(1) ↗ |
| You learn that a qualified beneficiary has a representative who was not notified, no longer has one, or that there is a new qualified beneficiary | Within 90 days of acquiring that knowledge. | Give the same notice of the trust's existence and the beneficiary's rights to the newly identified qualified beneficiary or representative. | The qualified beneficiary, or the representative under Article 3 | 760 ILCS 3/813.1(b)(1) ↗ |
| You accept the trusteeship | Within 90 days after you accept. | Notify each qualified beneficiary of the acceptance and of your name, address and telephone number. A corporate successor by merger, consolidation or an affiliate transfer with unchanged contact information chooses its own timing and manner. | Each qualified beneficiary (760 ILCS 3/103(30)) | 760 ILCS 3/813.1(d)(1)(A) ↗ |
| You plan a change in the rate of, or the method of determining, your compensation | In advance of the change; no day-count. | Notify each qualified beneficiary before the change. | Each qualified beneficiary | 760 ILCS 3/813.1(d)(1)(B) ↗ |
| Another trustee becomes incapacitated, dies, is disqualified or is removed, and you continue as trustee | Within 90 days after the event. | Notify each qualified beneficiary of the other trustee's incapacity, death, disqualification or removal. | Each qualified beneficiary | 760 ILCS 3/813.1(d)(2) ↗ |
| Your address, telephone number or other contact information changes | No later than 90 days after the change takes effect. | Notify each qualified beneficiary of the change. | Each qualified beneficiary | 760 ILCS 3/813.1(d)(3) ↗ |
| A qualified beneficiary reasonably requests the trust instrument | Promptly; no day-count. | Furnish a complete copy of the trust instrument — or, where the instrument so provides, only the portion that sets forth the terms in which the qualified beneficiary has an interest. Each request concerns a single, sufficiently identified trust; a reasonable fee may be charged for repeat information or to a beneficiary who is not a qualified beneficiary. | — | 760 ILCS 3/813.1(b)(6) ↗ |
| Each year of the administration | At least annually. | Send a trust accounting — the trust property, liabilities, receipts and disbursements, including the amount of your compensation; the value of the assets on hand at the close of the period, to the extent feasible; and all other material facts of the administration (760 ILCS 3/103(38)) — to all current beneficiaries and to all presumptive remainder beneficiaries (760 ILCS 3/813.1(b)(3)). An asset with no readily available market value may carry an estimated or nominal value in your discretion. | All current beneficiaries and all presumptive remainder beneficiaries | 760 ILCS 3/813.1(b)(2) ↗ |
| The trust terminates | On termination; no day-count. | Send a trust accounting to all beneficiaries entitled to receive a distribution of the residue of the trust. On termination the trustee may require a written approval of the accounting and, at the trustee's election, a refunding agreement, and may withhold a reasonable reserve pending them (760 ILCS 3/817). | All beneficiaries entitled to a distribution of the residue | 760 ILCS 3/813.1(b)(4) ↗ |
| A vacancy occurs in the trusteeship and no co-trustee remains in office | Upon the vacancy; no day-count. | The former trustee sends the trust accounting to the beneficiaries entitled to it; a personal representative, guardian of the estate or guardian of the person may send it on behalf of a deceased or incapacitated trustee. | The beneficiaries entitled to the accounting | 760 ILCS 3/813.1(c) ↗ |
| A qualified beneficiary delivers a written waiver, or withdraws one | At any time; the withdrawal reaches future trust accountings. | A qualified beneficiary may waive the right to receive information the section requires, such as a trust accounting, by an instrument in writing delivered to the trustee, and may withdraw the waiver by a later writing. Silence is not a waiver. | — | 760 ILCS 3/813.1(g) ↗ |
| The trust became irrevocable, or you accepted the trusteeship, before January 1, 2020 | A current account at least annually; a final account on termination. | Furnish a current account showing the receipts, disbursements and inventory to the beneficiaries entitled to or receiving the income (or, if none, those eligible to it), and on termination a final account to the beneficiaries entitled to distribution, with prior accounts made available; an incapacitated beneficiary's account goes to the representative of the beneficiary's estate or, if none, a spouse, parent, adult child or guardian. | The income beneficiaries; on termination, the beneficiaries entitled to distribution | 760 ILCS 3/813.2 ↗ |
| The trust is revocable and the settlor is living | While the trust is revocable; no day-count. | While the settlor personally has capacity to revoke, the beneficiaries' rights are subject to the settlor's control and the trustee's duties are owed exclusively to the settlor; while the settlor lacks that capacity, the duties are owed to the settlor and the current beneficiaries, the settlor's interests first. | — | 760 ILCS 3/603 ↗ |
| Co-trustees cannot reach a unanimous decision | After prior written notice to, or written waiver of notice by, each other co-trustee. | Co-trustees who cannot agree may act by majority decision after that written notice or waiver; each co-trustee participates unless unavailable or the function was delegated, and where prompt action is needed and a co-trustee is unavailable, the remaining co-trustee or a majority of the remaining co-trustees may act. | Each other co-trustee | 760 ILCS 3/703 ↗ |
| You decide to resign | Upon notice; no day-count. | Resign upon notice to the settlor, if living, to the beneficiaries who are distributees or permissible distributees of trust income, and to all co-trustees — or with the court's approval; the trustee also notifies each qualified beneficiary of the resignation (760 ILCS 3/813.1(d)(1)(C)). Resignation does not discharge liability for the trustee's acts; a former trustee delivers the property expeditiously (760 ILCS 3/707). | The settlor if living, the income distributees and all co-trustees; each qualified beneficiary | 760 ILCS 3/705 ↗ |
| You propose to transfer the trust's principal place of administration | Not less than 60 days before initiating the transfer; the objection date the notice states is not less than 60 days after the notice. | Notify the qualified beneficiaries of the new jurisdiction, the address and telephone number at the new location, the reasons, the anticipated date and the date by which they may object. A timely objection ends the authority to transfer without the court. | The qualified beneficiaries | 760 ILCS 3/108 ↗ |
| Interested persons propose a nonjudicial settlement agreement | Where the trust has a charitable interest, written notice to the Attorney General at least 60 days before the effective date; any interested person may petition the court to approve within 60 days after the effective date. | Interested persons may settle the matters the section lists — the terms' interpretation, approval of an accounting, a trustee's powers, appointment and compensation, transfer of the place of administration, bona fide disputes and, with the court's approval, termination — by an agreement that binds as a court order. | The Attorney General's Charitable Trust Bureau, where the trust has a charitable interest | 760 ILCS 3/111 ↗ |
| You consider terminating a small trust as uneconomic | After notice to the qualified beneficiaries; notice to the current beneficiaries at least 30 days before the effective date. | The trustee of a trust whose property is worth less than $100,000 may terminate it after notice to the qualified beneficiaries if the costs of continuing it will substantially impair its purpose, distributing to the current beneficiaries as the section directs; the court may also modify or terminate an uneconomic trust. | The qualified beneficiaries; the current beneficiaries | 760 ILCS 3/414 ↗ |
| You decide to convert the trust to a total return trust | A qualified beneficiary may object in writing within 60 days after the notice is sent. | Send a written notice of the decision, with a prospective effective date and a copy of Article 11, to all of the qualified beneficiaries; the conversion proceeds if none objects within the 60 days. | All of the qualified beneficiaries | 760 ILCS 3/1102 ↗ |
| You intend to distribute the trust's property to a second trust | Notice not later than 60 days before the exercise; the notice period ends 59 days after the notice is given, unless every person entitled to notice waives it in a signed record. | Give notice in a record of the intended exercise — the manner, the effective date, the first-trust instrument and every second-trust instrument — to each living settlor, each qualified beneficiary, each holder of a presently exercisable power of appointment, each person who may remove or replace the fiduciary, every other fiduciary of the first trust, each fiduciary of the second trust and, where there is a charitable interest, the Attorney General's Charitable Trust Bureau. | The persons 760 ILCS 3/1207(c) lists | 760 ILCS 3/1207 ↗ |
| The settlor of a trust that was revocable at death dies | The earlier of 2 years after the death and — where the settlor's will admitted to probate gives the trust a legacy — the time to contest the will (6 months after admission, 755 ILCS 5/8-1), or otherwise 6 months after you send a copy of the trust instrument with a notice of the trust's existence, your name and address and the 6-month period. | The period within which a judicial proceeding to contest the validity of the trust may be commenced. | — | 760 ILCS 3/604(a) ↗ |
| The settlor of a trust that was revocable at death dies | Nine months after the death; no protection where you know of a pending contest, or a potential contestant notified you of a possible proceeding and a proceeding is commenced within 60 days after the notification. | Nine months after the death the trustee may proceed to distribute under the trust instrument without liability for doing so, subject to those two conditions; a beneficiary of a trust determined to have been invalid returns the distribution with its income and appreciation. | — | 760 ILCS 3/604(b) ↗ |
| The settlor of a trust that was revocable at death dies | Nine months after the death, absent a written notice from the personal representative that the probate estate is or may be insufficient (or after its withdrawal or revocation). | A trustee who distributes nine months or later after the settlor's death, in accordance with the trust instrument, is released from liability under the section for the assets distributed — unless the personal representative's written insufficiency notice was received and not withdrawn. | — | 760 ILCS 3/505(a)(6) ↗ |
| The settlor of a trust that was revocable at death dies | Throughout the estate's administration; no day-count. | The property of a trust that was revocable at the settlor's death is subject to the settlor's creditors' claims, the costs of administering the estate, the funeral expenses and the statutory awards to the spouse and children to the extent the probate estate is inadequate; a claim barred against the personal representative is barred against the trust, and the Probate Act's classification and priority apply once a right to collect from the trust is perfected. | — | 760 ILCS 3/505(a)(5) ↗ |
| You furnish a trust accounting or other writing that adequately discloses a matter (a trust irrevocable, or a trustee who accepted, after January 1, 2020) | 2 years after the date the information is furnished. | The matter disclosed is binding on each person who receives the information, and those the person represents, unless an action against the trustee is instituted within those 2 years. A disclosure is adequate if it provides sufficient information so that the person knows of the potential claim or should have inquired into its existence. | — | 760 ILCS 3/1005(a)(1) ↗ |
| You furnish a current or final account (a trust irrevocable, or a trustee who accepted, before January 1, 2020) | 3 years after the date the account is furnished. | A current account binds each beneficiary receiving it, and a final account each beneficiary receiving it and those claiming through them, unless an action against the trustee is instituted within those 3 years. | — | 760 ILCS 3/1005(a)(2) ↗ |
| The trustee is removed, resigns or dies; the beneficiary's interest ends; or the trust terminates | 5 years after the first of those events, unless barred earlier; fraudulent concealment, 5 years after discovery (735 ILCS 5/13-215). | The outer period within which a beneficiary's judicial proceeding against a trustee for breach of trust must be commenced. | — | 760 ILCS 3/1005(b) ↗ |
| A transfer is made or an obligation incurred that a creditor may challenge | 4 years after the transfer or obligation, or, for actual intent, 1 year after it was or could reasonably have been discovered if later; 1 year for an insider's antecedent debt. | The periods within which a creditor's action under the Uniform Fraudulent Transfer Act is brought, or is extinguished. | — | 740 ILCS 160/10 ↗ |
| The trust terminates | A copy of the governing instrument kept for a minimum of 7 years after the termination; the unclaimed-property search before the termination. | Maintain, for at least 7 years after the termination, a copy of the governing trust instrument under which you were authorized to act when the trust terminated, and, before the termination, conduct a reasonable search for any trust property reported and remitted to a state unclaimed-property administrator (760 ILCS 3/810(f); as amended by P.A. 104-116 from January 1, 2026). | — | 760 ILCS 3/810(e) ↗ |
| The trust terminates, in whole or in part, or a beneficiary exercises a right to withdraw principal | Expeditiously; no day-count. | Proceed expeditiously to make the distribution. The trustee may require a written approval of the trust accounting and, at the trustee's election, a refunding agreement, and may withhold a reasonable amount or require a reasonable reserve for debts, expenses and taxes pending them or a judicial settlement of accounts; an approved accounting binds the approving beneficiary and successors. | — | 760 ILCS 3/817 ↗ |
| The decedent dies and the gross estate plus adjusted taxable gifts exceeds the Illinois exclusion amount ($4,000,000, 35 ILCS 405/2) | The return and the tax are due on the due date, including extensions, for the federal return — nine months after the death; a supplemental return within 3 months of a federal change (35 ILCS 405/7). | The person who files the federal return (or who would have to if a federal tax were due) files the Illinois transfer tax return (Form 700) with the Attorney General and pays the tax to the State Treasurer; where no federal return is required, schedules of assets are filed with it. | The Attorney General (the return); the State Treasurer (the tax) | 35 ILCS 405/6 ↗ |
| The trust's tax year ends | The 15th day of the fourth month after year-end (April 15 for a calendar-year trust), with the automatic filing extension. | File the Illinois fiduciary income and replacement tax return where the trust is required to file one, alongside the federal Form 1041. | — | Illinois Form IL-1041 ↗ |
| The testator dies and you hold the will | Immediately upon the death; wilfully secreting a will for 30 days after the death is known is a Class 3 felony. | Any person who has the testator's will in possession files it with the clerk of the court of the proper county; on failure the court may compel its production. | — | 755 ILCS 5/6-1 ↗Related estate |
| A will is admitted (or denied admission) to probate, or a representative is appointed | Not more than 14 days after the order: a copy of the petition and the order mailed to each heir and legatee, or published once a week for 3 successive weeks where a name or address is unknown. | The representative (or the petitioner) mails or publishes the notice, which includes the Supreme Court's explanation of the rights to formal proof and to contest (Ill. S. Ct. R. 108), and files proof. | Each heir and legatee | 755 ILCS 5/6-10 ↗Related estate |
| A will is admitted to probate before notice | Within 42 days after the effective date of the order admitting the will. | Any person entitled to notice may petition to require formal proof of the will by the witnesses' testimony. | — | 755 ILCS 5/6-21 ↗Related estate |
| A will is admitted to probate | Within 6 months after the admission. | Any interested person may petition to contest the will's validity; an action to contest a revocable trust to which the will gives a legacy is commenced within the same time. | — | 755 ILCS 5/8-1 ↗Related estate |
| A married testator's will is admitted to probate | Within 7 months after the admission — or further time the court allows on a petition filed in those 7 months showing pending litigation that affects the spouse's share. | The surviving spouse may renounce the will by a signed written instrument filed in the court where it was admitted, and takes one-third of the estate after claims if the testator leaves a descendant, one-half if none; the spouse's own decision. | — | 755 ILCS 5/2-8 ↗Related estate |
| A resident decedent's estate is administered in Illinois | Nine months' support after the death; paid in up to three installments as the court directs. | The surviving spouse's award — a reasonable sum for nine months' support, not less than $20,000 plus not less than $10,000 for each minor or dependent child residing with the spouse — exempt from creditors' process; a child's award where there is no spouse or the child did not reside with the spouse (755 ILCS 5/15-2). A dependent adult child's award requires written notice within 30 days of the representative's notice. | — | 755 ILCS 5/15-1 ↗Related estate |
| A personal representative is issued letters | Within 60 days after the letters; a supplemental inventory within 60 days after later property comes to the representative's knowledge. | The representative files a verified inventory of the real and personal estate and any cause of action; an independent representative serves the inventory on the interested persons instead, not less than 30 days before the closing report (755 ILCS 5/28-6). | — | 755 ILCS 5/14-1 ↗Related estate |
| A personal representative is appointed | Published once a week for 3 successive weeks and mailed or delivered to each known or reasonably ascertainable creditor; the claims date is not less than 6 months from the first publication or 3 months from the mailing or delivery, whichever is later. | The representative's notice states the death, the representative and the attorney, the claims date, and that a claim not filed by then is barred. | Each known or reasonably ascertainable creditor; publication for the rest | 755 ILCS 5/18-3 ↗Related estate |
| The representative disallows a claim not filed with the court | The notice of disallowance states a date not less than 2 months from the notice by which the claim must be filed with the court, or it is barred. | The representative may at any time pay or consent in writing to a claim that is not barred, or disallow a claim by a notice of disallowance mailed or delivered to the claimant. | — | 755 ILCS 5/18-11 ↗Related estate |
| The decedent dies | 2 years after the death, whether or not letters of office are issued — unless a claim is barred sooner by the creditor notice or a disallowance. | Every claim against the estate, except expenses of administration and the spouse's or child's award, is barred as to all of the decedent's estate; the section does not bar an action to establish the decedent's liability to the extent of liability insurance. | — | 755 ILCS 5/18-12 ↗Related estate |
| 12 months pass after the issuance of letters | Within 60 days after the expiration of the 12 months, or further time the court allows, and thereafter whenever the court requires. | The representative presents a verified account of the administration to the court, unless written consents of all interested persons excuse it. | — | 755 ILCS 5/24-1 ↗Related estate |
| An independent representative files the closing report | Objections within 42 days after the report was filed; a copy of the report mailed not more than 14 days after the filing. | The independent representative mails or delivers an accounting to all interested persons, files the verified report the section describes, and is discharged and the estate closed if no objection is filed within the 42 days. | — | 755 ILCS 5/28-11 ↗Related estate |
| The decedent leaves a small personal estate and no letters are outstanding or contemplated | No day-count; the personal estate, excluding motor vehicles registered with the Secretary of State, does not exceed $150,000. | A person holding the decedent's personal estate pays or delivers it to the persons the affidavit names, on the small estate affidavit in the statutory form; the affiant pays the valid claims in their statutory order before distributing and indemnifies those who rely on the affidavit. A successor's instrument, never the trustee's. | — | 755 ILCS 5/25-1 ↗Related estate |
| An interested person petitions for distribution on summary administration | Notice published once a week for 3 successive weeks, the first publication not less than 30 days before the hearing. | Where the gross estate subject to administration in Illinois does not exceed $100,000 and the section's other conditions are met — among them every heir's and legatee's written consent and each distributee's refunding bond — the court may direct distribution and excuse letters. | — | 755 ILCS 5/9-8 ↗Related estate |
| The trust becomes irrevocable | Before the trust receives income or files under its own number. | Obtain the trust's employer identification number; a revocable trust used the settlor's Social Security number, and that stops at death. | — | IRS Form SS-4 ↗Federal |
| The decedent dies | Nine months after death; a six-month extension is available. | File the federal estate tax return when the gross estate exceeds the filing threshold, or to elect portability for a surviving spouse. | — | IRS Form 706 ↗Federal |
| The trust's tax year ends | The 15th day of the fourth month after year-end (April 15 for a calendar-year trust). | File the trust's income tax return and issue a Schedule K-1 to each beneficiary who received distributable income. | — | IRS Form 1041 ↗Federal |
The estate, the creditors, and the reserve
The property of a trust that was revocable at the settlor's death answers for the settlor's creditors, the costs of administering the estate, the funeral expenses and the family's awards to the extent the probate estate is inadequate (760 ILCS 3/505(a)(5)). Where an estate is opened, its representative publishes and mails the notice to creditors (755 ILCS 5/18-3); whether or not one is opened, claims are barred 2 years after the death (755 ILCS 5/18-12). A trustee who distributes nine months or later after the death, without a representative's written insufficiency notice, is released from the trust's liability for what was distributed (760 ILCS 3/505(a)(6)). On termination, a trustee may require a written approval of the accounting and keep a reasonable reserve for debts, expenses and taxes (760 ILCS 3/817).
Money, taxes, and the record from day one
Keep trust money in a trust account, separate from your own, and record every receipt and payment (760 ILCS 3/810). Obtain the trust's employer identification number once it is irrevocable. The trust's federal Form 1041 and Illinois Form IL-1041 follow its tax year; where the gross estate plus adjusted taxable gifts exceeds $4,000,000, an Illinois estate tax return is due with the federal return (35 ILCS 405/2, 35 ILCS 405/6). Compensation is reasonable unless the trust sets it, and a change in its rate or method is noticed in advance (760 ILCS 3/708, 760 ILCS 3/813.1(d)(1)(B)).
The checklist, printable
The first steps, in order:
- Read the trust and every amendment; decide whether to accept (760 ILCS 3/701).
- Secure the property and the records (760 ILCS 3/809, 760 ILCS 3/810).
- Identify the qualified beneficiaries — each current and presumptive remainder beneficiary (760 ILCS 3/103).
- Send the notice of the trust's existence and the beneficiaries' rights within 90 days of the trust becoming irrevocable (760 ILCS 3/813.1(b)(1)).
- Send the acceptance notice within 90 days of accepting (760 ILCS 3/813.1(d)(1)(A)).
- Record whether an estate was opened and its claims date; note the two-year bar (755 ILCS 5/18-3, 755 ILCS 5/18-12).
- Deed real property out of the trust only by a written instrument of conveyance (760 ILCS 3/115).
- Send the trust accounting at least annually and at termination (760 ILCS 3/813.1(b)(2)–(4)).
What to avoid in the first months
Mixing trust money with your own (760 ILCS 3/810); transactions with the trust for your own account (760 ILCS 3/802); distributing before the claims and contest periods are understood (755 ILCS 5/18-12, 760 ILCS 3/505, 760 ILCS 3/604); and letting a request for a copy of the instrument go unanswered (760 ILCS 3/813.1(b)(6)).
When a licensed Illinois attorney is the right next call
TrusteeClear organizes the steps and the dates; it does not decide who must be notified or whether a claim is barred. A licensed Illinois attorney of your choosing can confirm the recipients, read the estate's claims position with you, and advise on distributions.
General information about Illinois law, not legal advice, and no attorney-client relationship is created by using this page.
Frequently asked questions
- What should I do first if I am named trustee of an Illinois trust?
- Read the trust and decide whether to accept (760 ILCS 3/701); after accepting, secure the property (760 ILCS 3/809), keep records (760 ILCS 3/810), and send the 90-day notices (760 ILCS 3/813.1).
- Can I decline to be an Illinois trustee?
- Yes. A designated trustee who has not accepted may decline, and one who does not accept within 120 days after receiving notice of the designation is deemed to have declined (760 ILCS 3/701(b)).
- Do I have to tell the beneficiaries about an Illinois trust?
- Illinois's trust code has the trustee notify each qualified beneficiary within 90 days of the trust becoming irrevocable and within 90 days after accepting (760 ILCS 3/813.1(b)(1), (d)(1)(A)); for a trust that became irrevocable after January 1, 2020 the notice of existence is a mandatory rule (760 ILCS 3/105).
General information about Illinois law, not legal advice.