Opening a New Case in Cook County’s Probate Division

• Sep 3, 2018
• Illinois
• by Tisha Delgado

Previously when paper filing in the Probate Division in Cook County, the basic procedure for opening a probate estate was to file a Probate cover sheet and a Petition for Probate of Will and For Letters Testamentary. After you filed those documents with the clerk and paid the filing fee, you would then step over to the hearing counter to obtain the initial hearing date. Nothing else was needed to be filed to obtain the hearing date. At the hearing, the attorney would tender the supporting documents: Affidavit of Heirship, bond, any waivers, and proposed orders.

Unfortunately, the new eFiling system has not streamlined this procedure. Currently, you will need to perform two separate eFiling transactions in order to obtain the initial hearing date, and to file the supporting documents, (except do not file any proposed orders).

Probate Division eFiling

To comply with the new electronic filing procedure for Cook County’s Probate Division, you will have to submit your paperwork in two separate filings.

In the first transaction, start a new case and file the Probate cover sheet, Petition for Probate of Will, and For Letters Testamentary. Once you have paid the filing fee and completed the first filing transaction, you will need to start another transaction. In the second transaction, file the supporting documents, e.g. Affidavit of Heirship, bond, and any waivers. This time though, be sure to add the word “motion” to the Case Cross Reference Number field to prompt the hearing calendar to schedule your hearing.

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