Updated September 3, 2026. Quick answer: Not a single fixed statutory figure: circuit clerks set the base probate filing fee locally within maximum caps tiered by county population (top schedule not to exceed $371 in counties of 3,000,000+ population, $321 elsewhere). The former $100 “Guardianship and Advocacy operations fee” (705 ILCS 105/27.3f) was repealed by P.A. 104-468, effective July 1, 2026. The first account for a ward’s estate is due within 30 days after one year from the issuance of letters; after that, accounts are due whenever the court requires, and if the court sets no time, within 30 days after 3 years from the preceding account. Everything on this page is quoted from Illinois’s own statutory text where it exists, and where Illinois publishes no figure this page says so rather than printing an estimate. What drives the rest of the bill, lawyers, an investigation, a capacity evaluation, is on what guardianship costs.
Jump to: the document that avoids this proceeding entirely
What Illinois fixes by statute
| Item | What the text says | Where it says it |
|---|---|---|
| Petition filing fee | Not a single fixed statutory figure: circuit clerks set the base probate filing fee locally within maximum caps tiered by county population (top schedule not to exceed $371 in counties of 3,000,000+ population, $321 elsewhere). The former $100 “Guardianship and Advocacy operations fee” (705 ILCS 105/27.3f) was repealed by P.A. 104-468, effective July 1, 2026. | 705 ILCS 105/27.1b; 705 ILCS 105/27.3f |
| Bond | Required for a guardian of the estate; waivable for a guardian of the person or standby guardian. Penal sum: not less than double the value of the personal estate if secured by individual sureties, or not less than 1.5 times the value if secured by a surety company, with additional bond possible where real estate is involved. 755 ILCS 5/12-11(d) refers to the representative’s failure to pay the annual bond premium, but the statutes read for this page do not say whether the ward’s estate reimburses it. | 755 ILCS 5/12-2; 755 ILCS 5/12-5; 755 ILCS 5/12-11(d) |
| Guardian ad litem and attorney fees | Not published: could not verify a statutory dollar figure. 755 ILCS 5/11a-10 provides only that “the court may allow the guardian ad litem reasonable compensation” and may allow counsel reasonable compensation, with the allocation of guardian ad litem fees and costs within the court’s discretion, except that no such fees or costs may be assessed against the Office of the State Guardian, the public guardian, an adult protective services agency, the Department of Children and Family Services, or the agency designated by the Governor under Section 1 of the Protection and Advocacy for Persons with Developmental Disabilities Act. | |
| Periodic accounting or report | Under 705 ILCS 105/27.1b(v)(1), no fee may be charged for accounts filed for guardianships for disabled adults under Article XIa; this exemption covers accounts, not the petition filing fee. The accounting duty for a ward’s estate (a verified account due within 30 days after one year from the issuance of letters) comes from 755 ILCS 5/24-11(a). After the first account, accounts are due whenever the court requires, and if the court sets no time, within 30 days after 3 years from the preceding account. | 755 ILCS 5/24-11; fee exemption at 705 ILCS 105/27.1b(v)(1) |
What the proceeding is called here. Guardians for Adults with Disabilities, 755 ILCS 5/11a-1 et seq. (Probate Act of 1975, Article XIa).
The filing fee
Not a single fixed statutory figure: circuit clerks set the base probate filing fee locally within maximum caps tiered by county population (top schedule not to exceed $371 in counties of 3,000,000+ population, $321 elsewhere). The former $100 “Guardianship and Advocacy operations fee” (705 ILCS 105/27.3f) was repealed by P.A. 104-468, effective July 1, 2026.
The bond
Required for a guardian of the estate; waivable for a guardian of the person or standby guardian. Penal sum: not less than double the value of the personal estate if secured by individual sureties, or not less than 1.5 times the value if secured by a surety company, with additional bond possible where real estate is involved. 755 ILCS 5/12-11(d) refers to the representative’s failure to pay the annual bond premium, but the statutes read for this page do not say whether the ward’s estate reimburses it.
Guardian ad litem and attorney fees
Not published here. Not published: could not verify a statutory dollar figure. 755 ILCS 5/11a-10 provides only that “the court may allow the guardian ad litem reasonable compensation” and may allow counsel reasonable compensation, with the allocation of guardian ad litem fees and costs within the court’s discretion, except that no such fees or costs may be assessed against the Office of the State Guardian, the public guardian, an adult protective services agency, the Department of Children and Family Services, or the agency designated by the Governor under Section 1 of the Protection and Advocacy for Persons with Developmental Disabilities Act.
How often you have to account
No fixed annual interval. Do not assume an annual cadence, here or across a state line: the interval is set by each state separately, several are biennial or triennial, and your own appointing court can order more often than the statutory minimum. The document that governs you is your order.
Under 705 ILCS 105/27.1b(v)(1), no fee may be charged for accounts filed for guardianships for disabled adults under Article XIa; this exemption covers accounts, not the petition filing fee. The accounting duty for a ward’s estate (a verified account due within 30 days after one year from the issuance of letters) comes from 755 ILCS 5/24-11(a). After the first account, accounts are due whenever the court requires, and if the court sets no time, within 30 days after 3 years from the preceding account.
What an accounting has to contain, and the duties that come with it, are on the guardian accounting duties page.
What this page does not tell you
All Illinois citations were fetched directly from ilga.gov, the Illinois General Assembly’s own official statute site: a true primary source, not a secondary mirror.
Where this fits
The filing fee is the smallest part of what a guardianship costs, and the national page sets out the costs that are larger and are not published anywhere. If nobody has been appointed yet, the comparison that actually matters is against the document that avoids this proceeding entirely : guardianship against a power of attorney.
Sources
| Item | Citation | Tier | Read |
|---|---|---|---|
| Petition filing fee | https://www.ilga.gov/documents/legislation/ilcs/documents/070501050K27.1b.htm | statute | 2026-09 |
| Bond | https://www.ilga.gov/documents/legislation/ilcs/documents/075500050K12-5.htm | statute | 2026-09 |
| Accounting | https://www.ilga.gov/documents/legislation/ilcs/documents/075500050K24-11.htm | statute | 2026-09 |
Also for Illinois: Illinois Small Estate Affidavit.
General consumer information, not legal, tax or financial advice. Guardianship and conservatorship are governed by STATE law and differ materially between states; every figure here is quoted from the cited source as read on the date shown and changes without notice. Read as of September 3, 2026.