Illinois Will and Trust Laws: Witnesses, E-Wills, Trusts (2026)

In Illinois, a person 18 or older who is of sound mind and memory may make a will (755 ILCS 5/4-1(a)), and the will must be in writing, signed by the testator or by someone in the testator's presence and at the testator's direction, and attested in the testator's presence by 2 or more credible witnesses (755 ILCS 5/4-3(a)). No notary is required, and section 4-3(a) makes no exception for an unwitnessed handwritten will. Living trusts are governed by the Illinois Trust Code (760 ILCS 3), which took effect January 1, 2020.

Two things set Illinois apart in the wills and trusts laws by state. It has a full statute for electronic wills and remote witnessing, in force since 2021. And its trust code makes a trust revocable only if the document expressly says so, which reverses the default in the Uniform Trust Code's model text.

Information last verified on 2026-10-19. This article has not been reviewed by a licensed lawyer.

Jurisdiction scope: This article covers Illinois statutes on making, signing, proving, changing and revoking wills (the Probate Act of 1975, 755 ILCS 5, and the Electronic Wills, Electronic Estate Planning Documents, and Remote Witnesses Act, 755 ILCS 6) and on revocable living trusts (the Illinois Trust Code, 760 ILCS 3). It does not cover what happens when someone dies without a will or how estate administration works (see Illinois probate), small-estate procedures (see the Illinois small estate affidavit page), powers of attorney (see Illinois power of attorney laws), or taxes. A living will is a health-care directive, not a will; see the Illinois advance directive tool.

What makes a will valid in Illinois?

Capacity comes from section 4-1(a): "Every person who has attained the age of 18 years and is of sound mind and memory has power to bequeath by will the real and personal estate which he has at the time of his death."

Section 4-1(b) adds a rebuttable presumption that a will or codicil is void if it was executed or modified after the testator was adjudicated disabled and either a plenary guardian was appointed, or a limited guardian was appointed and the court found the testator lacks testamentary capacity. Clear and convincing evidence of capacity at signing overcomes it, it does not apply to a will completed under section 11a-18(d-5), and it reaches only wills and codicils executed or modified after January 1, 2016, the effective date of P.A. 99-302.

Form comes from section 4-3(a):

"Every will shall be in writing, signed by the testator or by some person in his presence and by his direction and attested in the presence of the testator by 2 or more credible witnesses." (755 ILCS 5/4-3(a))

Each element matters:

• Writing. The will must be in writing; electronic wills are covered by a separate act, discussed below.
• Signature. The testator signs, or another person signs for the testator, in the testator's presence and by the testator's direction.
• Witnesses. At least 2 credible witnesses attest the will in the testator's presence.

Section 4-3(b) adds that "A will that qualifies as an international will under the Uniform International Wills Act is considered to meet all the requirements of subsection (a)."

Interested witnesses

Illinois does not void a will because a beneficiary witnessed it, but it can void the witness's gift. Under section 4-6(a), if a will gives a beneficial legacy or interest "to a person attesting its execution or to his spouse, the legacy or interest is void as to that beneficiary and all persons claiming under him, unless the will is otherwise duly attested by a sufficient number of witnesses as provided by this Article exclusive of that person." Even then, the witness "is entitled to receive so much of the legacy or interest given to him by the will as does not exceed the value of the share of the testator's estate to which he would be entitled were the will not established."

Wills signed outside Illinois

Under section 7-1, a will can be admitted when it "was executed outside of this State in accordance with the law of this State, of the place where executed or of the testator's domicile at the time of its execution."

Does an Illinois will need to be notarized?

No. Section 4-3(a) requires a signature and attestation by witnesses, not a notary. Illinois handles proof at probate through the witnesses' own statements. Under section 6-4(b):

"The statements of a witness to prove the will under subsection 6-4(a) may be made by (1) testimony before the court, (2) an attestation clause signed by the witness and forming a part of or attached to the will or (3) an affidavit which is signed by the witness at or after the time of attestation and which forms part of the will or is attached to the will or to an accurate facsimile of the will." (755 ILCS 5/6-4(b))

A signed attestation clause or a witness affidavit is therefore an alternative to live testimony before the court, and section 6-4(b) does not call for a notary for either one.

Are handwritten (holographic) or oral wills valid in Illinois?

A handwritten will is valid only if it is witnessed like any other will, and an oral will is not valid. Section 4-3(a) requires every will to be "attested in the presence of the testator by 2 or more credible witnesses," and the section contains no exception for a will written in the testator's own hand. A handwritten will signed in Illinois therefore has to meet the same witness requirement as a typed one.

A handwritten will made elsewhere is a different question. If it was valid under the law of the place where it was signed or of the testator's domicile when it was signed, section 7-1 allows it to be admitted.

An oral (nuncupative) will does not meet section 4-3(a), which begins: "Every will shall be in writing." Article IV of the Probate Act contains no exception for an oral will.

Electronic wills and remote witnessing

Illinois has had a dedicated statute since 2021: the Electronic Wills, Electronic Estate Planning Documents, and Remote Witnesses Act, 755 ILCS 6 (P.A. 102-167, effective July 26, 2021, amended by P.A. 103-301, effective January 1, 2024). Its stated purpose includes "the valid execution, attestation, self-proving, and probate of electronic wills, paper copies of electronic wills, and wills attested to by witnesses through audio-video communication" (755 ILCS 6/1-5).

Electronic wills

The witness rule does not change for an electronic will. Under 755 ILCS 6/5-5, "an electronic will shall be executed by the testator or by some person in the testator's presence and at the testator's direction, and attested to in the testator's presence by 2 or more credible witnesses."

Electronic wills carry a revocation rule that paper wills do not. Under 755 ILCS 6/5-10, if there is evidence that a testator signed an electronic will "and neither an electronic will nor a certified paper copy of the electronic will can be located after a testator's death, there is a presumption that the testator revoked the electronic will even if no instrument or later will revoking the electronic will can be located."

Witnessing by audio-video communication

A paper or electronic will can be witnessed remotely, with conditions. Under 755 ILCS 6/15-10, such a will "shall designate this State as its place of execution, be signed by the testator or by some person at the testator's direction and in the testator's presence, and be attested to in the presence of the testator by 2 or more credible witnesses who are located in the United States at the time of the attestation."

Section 15-10 also sets the steps. During the audio-video communication, the witness must determine the testator's identity, the testator must sign the will, direct another person in the testator's presence to sign it, or acknowledge the signature as the testator's act, and the witness must attest to the will in the testator's presence (15-10(d)). A person signing at the testator's direction may not be an attesting witness, a person receiving a beneficial legacy or interest under the will, or the spouse or child of such a person (15-10(c)); section 5-5(b) applies the same bar to electronic wills. If the will has separate signature pages, attestation clauses or affidavits, the testator or a person the testator appoints must attach each witness's signed page, clause or affidavit, or a copy, to the paper document containing the testator's signature or a paper copy of the electronic will within 10 business days of the attestation (15-10(e)).

To be admitted to probate, a remotely witnessed will (other than one signed under the COVID-era section 15-20) "is sufficiently proved to be admitted to probate when each of at least 2 of the attesting witnesses make the statements described in subsection (b)" of 755 ILCS 6/20-20.

The COVID-19 window has ended

Section 15-20 of the same act authorized witnessing and notarial acts by 2-way audio-video communication "effective March 26, 2020 and ending 30 days after the expiration of the Governor's emergency declaration regarding COVID-19." That emergency window is over. Remote witnessing today rests on the permanent rules in section 15-10.

Changing or revoking an Illinois will

Methods of revocation

Section 4-7(a) is exclusive. A will "may be revoked only":

1. "by burning, cancelling, tearing or obliterating it by the testator himself or by some person in his presence and by his direction and consent,"
2. "by the execution of a later will declaring the revocation,"
3. "by a later will to the extent that it is inconsistent with the prior will or"
4. "by the execution of an instrument declaring the revocation and signed and attested in the manner prescribed by this Article for the signing and attestation of a will."

Changes written onto the will

Handwritten edits on a signed will do not work on their own. Under section 4-9, an addition, alteration, substitution, interlineation or deletion that does not revoke the will "is of no effect, unless made by the testator or by some person in his presence and by his direction and consent and unless the will is thereafter signed and attested in the manner prescribed by this Article for the execution of a will."

Reviving a revoked will

Under section 4-7(c), "A will which is totally revoked in any manner is not revived other than by its re-execution or by an instrument declaring the revival and signed and attested in the manner prescribed by this Article for the signing and attestation of a will."

Divorce and marriage

Section 4-7(b) starts with a general rule: "No will or any part thereof is revoked by any change in the circumstances, condition or marital status of the testator." Marriage after the will, by itself, does not revoke it.

The exception is divorce or annulment. A "dissolution of marriage or declaration of invalidity of the marriage of the testator revokes every legacy or interest or power of appointment given to or nomination to fiduciary office of the testator's former spouse in a will executed before the entry of the judgment," and "the will takes effect in the same manner as if the former spouse had died before the testator."

The Trust Code has a matching rule for living trusts. Under 760 ILCS 3/605(b), unless the trust instrument or the judgment expressly provides otherwise, a divorce, dissolution, annulment or declaration of invalidity of the settlor's marriage "revokes every provision that is revocable by the settlor pertaining to the settlor's former spouse in a trust instrument or amendment executed by the settlor before the entry of the judgment," and the trust is administered and construed as if the former spouse had died on entry of the judgment. Section 605 applies to trusts created by a nontestamentary instrument executed after January 1, 1982, and provisions revoked solely by it are revived if the settlor remarries the former spouse (605(e)).

Children born after the will

Under section 4-10, unless the will provides for a child born after it was executed, or shows an intention to disinherit the child, "the child is entitled to receive the portion of the estate to which he would be entitled if the testator died intestate and all legacies shall abate proportionately therefor." The intestate shares themselves are covered on the Illinois probate page.

When a beneficiary dies first

Section 4-11(a) provides that, unless the will says otherwise, if a legacy "is to a descendant of the testator who dies before or after the testator, the descendants of the legatee living when the legacy is to take effect in possession or enjoyment, take per stirpes the estate so bequeathed."

Limits on what an Illinois will can do

Spouse's right to renounce the will. Under 755 ILCS 5/2-8, a surviving spouse who renounces the will "is entitled to the following share of the testator's estate after payment of all just claims: 1/3 of the entire estate if the testator leaves a descendant or 1/2 of the entire estate if the testator leaves no descendant." The renunciation must be filed "within 7 months after the admission of the will to probate," or within further time the court allows if, within that period (or an extension), the spouse petitions because "litigation is pending that affects the share of the surviving spouse in the estate."

Omitted children. Section 4-10, above, protects a child born after the will.

Gifts to witnesses. Section 4-6(a), above, limits what an attesting witness or the witness's spouse can take.

After death: filing the will and the contest deadline

Anyone holding the will has a duty to turn it in. Under section 6-1, "Immediately upon the death of the testator any person who has the testator's will in his possession shall file it with the clerk of the court of the proper county," and the court may issue an attachment to compel production if the person fails or refuses. Under section 6-1(b), a person who wilfully alters or destroys a will without the testator's direction, or wilfully hides it for 30 days after learning of the death, is sentenced on conviction as in cases of theft of property classified as a Class 3 felony.

The time to challenge an admitted will is short. Under section 8-1(a), "Within 6 months after the admission to probate of a domestic will," any interested person may file a petition to contest its validity. How probate itself works is covered on the Illinois probate page.

The Secretary of State also accepts wills for deposit in one situation: "A depositor may deposit a will with the Secretary of State if the depositor certifies in writing to the Secretary of State that the depositor is unable to locate the testator after a diligent search" (15 ILCS 305/5.15). A "depositor" is defined as an attorney licensed or formerly licensed in Illinois, the attorney's representative, the attorney's guardian, or the personal representative of the attorney's estate, so the section is not a deposit option for a testator's own will.

Revocable living trusts in Illinois

The Illinois Trust Code

Illinois trusts are governed by the Illinois Trust Code, 760 ILCS 3, effective January 1, 2020 (P.A. 101-48). It defines "revocable," as applied to a trust, as "revocable by the settlor without the consent of the trustee or a person holding an adverse interest. A revocable trust is deemed revocable during the settlor's lifetime" (760 ILCS 3/103).

Creating a trust

Section 402(a) lists the requirements. "A trust is created only if: (1) the settlor or other person creating the trust has capacity to create a trust; (2) the settlor or other person creating the trust indicates an intention to create the trust; (3) the trust has a definite beneficiary" (or fits a listed exception); "(4) the trustee has duties to perform; and (5) the same person is not the sole trustee and sole beneficiary."

Section 402(a) does not itself require a signed writing, witnesses or a notary. Section 407 allows an oral trust but sets a high bar: "Except as required by a statute other than this Code, a trust need not be evidenced by a trust instrument, but the creation of an oral trust and its terms may be established only by clear and convincing evidence."

Land is the main exception. Under the Statute of Frauds, 740 ILCS 80/9, "All declarations or creations of trusts or confidences of any lands, tenements or hereditaments, shall be manifested and proved by some writing signed by the party who is by law enabled to declare such trust, or by his last will in writing; or else they shall be utterly void and of no effect."

Capacity

Under 760 ILCS 3/601, "The capacity required of the settlor to create, amend, revoke in whole or in part, or add property to a revocable trust is the same as that required to make a will."

Revocable only if the trust says so

This is the rule most likely to surprise someone who has read general material on living trusts. Under section 602(a):

"The settlor may revoke a trust only if the trust instrument expressly provides that the trust is revocable or that the settlor has an unrestricted power of amendment. The settlor may amend a trust only if the trust expressly provides that the trust is revocable or amendable by the settlor." (760 ILCS 3/602(a))

The Uniform Trust Code's model text takes the opposite approach, treating a trust as revocable unless its terms expressly make it irrevocable. In Illinois, the reservation of the power to revoke has to be in the document.

How to revoke or amend

Section 602(c) sets the method. The settlor may revoke or amend a revocable trust instrument "(1) by substantially complying with a method provided in the trust instrument; or (2) if the trust instrument does not provide a method or the method provided in the terms is not expressly made exclusive, by a later instrument in writing other than a will, signed by the settlor and specifically referring to the trust."

A will cannot serve as that later instrument under 602(c)(2).

Creditors

Under 760 ILCS 3/505(a)(1), "During the lifetime of the settlor, the property of a revocable trust is subject to claims of the settlor's creditors to the extent the property would not otherwise be exempt by law if owned directly by the settlor."

Certification of trust

Under section 1013, "Instead of furnishing a copy of the trust instrument to a person other than a beneficiary, the trustee may furnish to the person a certification of trust," beginning with "a statement that the trust exists and the date the trust instrument was executed." The certification "must be signed or otherwise authenticated by one or more of the trustees," and "A third party may require that the certification of trust be acknowledged."

Deadline to contest a revocable trust

Once the settlor's death makes a revocable trust irrevocable, section 813.1(b)(1) requires the trustee to notify each qualified beneficiary of the trust's existence, of the right to request a copy of the trust instrument, and of whether the beneficiary has a right to receive or request trust accountings, within 90 days of the trust becoming irrevocable (or, if no trustee is then acting, within 90 days of the trustee's acceptance). Section 813.1 applies to trusts that became irrevocable after the Trust Code took effect.

Section 604 sets a layered deadline for a trust that was revocable at the settlor's death. A contest may be brought "only within the earlier of":

• "2 years after the settlor's death"; or
• for a trust that receives a legacy under the settlor's will admitted to probate, "the time to contest the validity of the settlor's will as provided in the Probate Act of 1975"; or
• for any other trust, "6 months after the trustee sent the person a copy of the trust instrument and a notice informing the person of the trust's existence, of the trustee's name and address, and of the 6-month period allowed for commencing a proceeding."

The Code of Civil Procedure says the same for pour-over trusts: an action to contest a revocable trust "to which a legacy is provided by the settlor's will which is admitted to probate, shall be commenced within and not after the time to contest the validity of a will" (735 ILCS 5/13-223). Under section 8-1(a), that will-contest period is 6 months after admission to probate.

Pour-over wills

Section 4-4 lets a will leave property to a living trust, with one timing condition: the trust must already exist when the will is made.

"a testator may bequeath or appoint real and personal estate to a trustee of a trust evidenced by an instrument, including the will of another who predeceases the testator, which is in existence when the testator's will is made and which is identified in the testator's will, even though the trust is subject to amendment, modification, revocation or termination." (755 ILCS 5/4-4)

The same section makes the existence, size or character of the trust's property immaterial to the validity of the bequest, so the trust can hold little or nothing when the will is signed. If the trust is revoked or terminated before the testator's death, "the bequest or appointment shall take effect according to the terms and provisions of the instrument creating the trust as they existed at the time of the termination, unless the testator's will otherwise provides."

Illinois wills and trusts at a glance

Recent and upcoming changes

• 2024 amendment to the electronic wills act. P.A. 103-301 amended the act, including its purpose section (755 ILCS 6/1-5), effective January 1, 2024.
• Public Act 104-0719 (Senate Bill 3291). This act, concerning the deposit of wills, has an effective date of January 1, 2027. Until then it is not in force.

Making a will in practice

The site's free Illinois will-maker tool can help draft a basic will. Whatever produces the document, signing must follow section 4-3(a): 2 or more credible witnesses attesting in the testator's presence, with the beneficiary-witness rule in section 4-6(a) in mind. Complex estates, blended families, business interests or tax questions are reasons to consult a lawyer licensed in Illinois. The tool is not legal advice.

Members of the armed forces have one federal option as well: under 10 U.S.C. 1044d, a military testamentary instrument is exempt from state formalities and has the same legal effect as a will executed under the law of the state where it is presented for probate (see the wills and trusts hub for the federal layer).

Related pages

• Wills and trusts laws by state
• Illinois probate
• Illinois small estate affidavit
• Illinois power of attorney laws

This article provides general legal information about Illinois law on wills and revocable trusts as of 2026-10-19. It is not legal advice. For advice about a specific situation, contact a lawyer licensed in Illinois or the circuit court clerk in your county.

Last updated: 2026-10-19.

Frequently Asked Questions

How many witnesses does a will need in Illinois?

Two or more credible witnesses, who must attest the will in the presence of the testator (755 ILCS 5/4-3(a)). The same 2-witness rule applies to electronic wills (755 ILCS 6/5-5) and to wills witnessed by audio-video communication (755 ILCS 6/15-10).

Is a handwritten will valid in Illinois?

Only if it is witnessed. Section 4-3(a) requires every will to be attested by 2 or more credible witnesses and makes no exception for a handwritten will. A will executed outside Illinois can be admitted if it followed Illinois law, the law of the place where it was signed, or the law of the testator's domicile at the time (755 ILCS 5/7-1).

Does a will have to be notarized in Illinois?

No. Section 4-3(a) requires signing and attestation by witnesses, not notarization. At probate, a witness's statements can be given by an attestation clause the witness signed or by an affidavit attached to the will (755 ILCS 5/6-4(b)).

Can a beneficiary witness a will in Illinois?

A gift to an attesting witness or the witness's spouse is void unless the will is otherwise attested by enough witnesses without that person, but the witness can still receive up to the share he or she would have inherited without the will (755 ILCS 5/4-6(a)).

Are electronic wills legal in Illinois?

Yes. The Electronic Wills, Electronic Estate Planning Documents, and Remote Witnesses Act (755 ILCS 6), effective July 26, 2021, provides for electronic wills attested in the testator's presence by 2 or more credible witnesses, and for remote witnessing by audio-video communication when the will designates Illinois as the place of execution and the witnesses are in the United States. Section 15-10 also requires the witness to determine the testator's identity during the call and any separately signed witness pages to be attached within 10 business days.

Does divorce revoke a will in Illinois?

Divorce does not revoke the whole will. Under 755 ILCS 5/4-7(b), a judgment of dissolution or declaration of invalidity revokes every gift, power of appointment and fiduciary nomination to the former spouse in a will made before the judgment, and the will takes effect as if the former spouse had died first. For a living trust executed after January 1, 1982, 760 ILCS 3/605 revokes revocable provisions for the former spouse made before the judgment, unless the trust instrument or the judgment expressly provides otherwise; remarriage to the former spouse revives them.

How do I revoke a will in Illinois?

Under 755 ILCS 5/4-7(a), by burning, cancelling, tearing or obliterating it (personally, or by someone in your presence and at your direction and consent), by a later will declaring the revocation or inconsistent with it, or by a signed and attested instrument declaring the revocation.

Is a living trust revocable in Illinois?

Only if the trust instrument says so. Under 760 ILCS 3/602(a), the settlor may revoke a trust only if the instrument expressly provides that it is revocable or that the settlor has an unrestricted power of amendment.

How long do you have to contest a will or living trust in Illinois?

A will contest must be filed within 6 months after the will is admitted to probate (755 ILCS 5/8-1(a)). A trust that was revocable at death can be contested only within the earlier of 2 years after death or, depending on the trust, the will-contest period or 6 months after the trustee's notice (760 ILCS 3/604).

Can a spouse be left out of a will in Illinois?

A surviving spouse may renounce the will and take 1/3 of the entire estate after claims if the testator left a descendant, or 1/2 if not, by filing within 7 months after the will is admitted to probate, or longer if the court allows it because litigation affecting the share is pending (755 ILCS 5/2-8).