When a Parent Dies in Cook County: What to Do First, and What Can Wait

Very little has to happen in the first week. Funeral plans and a few phone calls, mostly. The legal and money tasks can wait a few weeks while you catch your breath. This checklist puts things in order so you don’t miss the few that are time-sensitive.

In the first few days

• If your parent died at home without hospice, call 911. If hospice was involved, call the hospice first.
• Choose a funeral home. It will usually file the death certificate and order certified copies for you.
• Order more certified death certificates than you think you need. Banks, insurers, pension plans and the Secretary of State often each want one. Ten is a common starting number.
• Find the original will, if there is one. Illinois law requires whoever holds the original will to file it with the Clerk of the Circuit Court in the county where your parent lived right after the death. In Cook County that's the Probate Division at the Daley Center.
• Secure the house and car. Lock up valuables and keep up insurance on any empty home.

In the first few weeks

• Social Security: the funeral home usually reports the death. Any benefit paid for the month of death must be returned. A surviving spouse may qualify for a one-time $255 payment and survivor benefits.
• Medicare and Medicaid are notified through Social Security. Cancel any Medigap, Part D or Medicare Advantage plan premiums paid by bank draft.
• Pensions, annuities and life insurance: call each one and ask what they need to pay the beneficiary.
• Banks: accounts with a payable-on-death beneficiary go straight to that person. Accounts in your parent's name alone may need the small estate affidavit or probate.
• Forward mail through USPS and close credit cards. Ask the three credit bureaus to flag the record as deceased to prevent identity theft.

Probate or the small estate affidavit?

Since August 15, 2025, Illinois lets families use a small estate affidavit when the probate estate is worth $150,000 or less (it was $100,000). Registered vehicles no longer count toward that limit. The affidavit can collect bank accounts and personal property, but not real estate. If your parent owned a house in their name alone, or the estate is larger, a probate case is usually needed. Assets that pass by beneficiary designation, joint ownership with survivorship, or a living trust don’t go through probate at all. Read our Cook County probate guide for what to expect.

In the first few months

• File your parent's final income tax return for the year of death.
• Tell the Cook County Assessor's Office if your parent received a senior exemption on the home, since exemptions end at death.
• Transfer or sell vehicles through the Illinois Secretary of State.
• Keep paying the house's utilities, insurance and property taxes until it's sold or transferred.
• Don't pay your parent's debts from your own money. Debts are paid from the estate, and family members usually aren't personally responsible.

Take care of yourself, too

Grief and paperwork arrive together. Split the tasks among siblings (see our siblings guide), and lean on the support listed in our caregiver support hub.

General information, not legal or tax advice. Talk with an Illinois attorney about your family’s situation.

FAQ

General information, not legal or tax advice. Talk with an Illinois attorney about your family’s situation.