Douglas County Circuit Court Guide

Note: Douglas County's published filing fee schedule (April 2022, linked from the circuit clerk's page) lists PR Probate, Administration of Decedent's Estate, at $376.00 with a $201.00 appearance fee, a probate-specific jury demand at $137.50, no fee to reopen an estate, and claims against estates by tier. The decedent-estate total is the civil Schedule 2 case filing fee set by the county board under 705 ILCS 105/27.1b (maximum $266 outside Cook County; probate cases are assigned to Schedule 2 by Illinois Supreme Court order M.R. 29741) plus the flat $100 guardianship and advocacy operations fee charged on decedent estate administration filings under 705 ILCS 105/27.3f. The small estate affidavit (755 ILCS 5/25-1) is presented directly to banks and other asset holders, not filed with the court, so it has no court filing fee. Newspaper publication costs are paid directly to the newspaper. County fee schedule accessed 2026-07-18. Verify the current amounts with the Douglas County Circuit Clerk before filing.