McHenry County Circuit Court Guide

Note: McHenry County's fee schedule effective January 21, 2025 lists the Probate (PR) filing fee for Administration of a Decedent's Estate at $364.00 (missing person $364.00, wrongful death or collection of judgment $264.00), with the probate appearance fee at $189.00 (no fee for the appearance of an executor, administrator, guardian, guardian ad litem, or special administrator), estate claims at no fee (under $150), $25.00 ($150 to $499.99), $40.00 ($500 to $9,999.99), and $60.00 ($10,000 or more), letters of office at $2.00 each, filing a will alone at no fee (original wills cannot be filed electronically), and a petition to reopen an estate at no fee within 30 days and $75.00 after 31 days or more. The decedent-estate total is the civil Schedule 2 case filing fee set by the county board under 705 ILCS 105/27.1b (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 McHenry County Circuit Clerk before filing.