How to Remove an Executor in Illinois Probate: Grounds, Process, and What to Expect

The most serious and commonly litigated ground for removal is the mishandling of estate assets. Under 755 ILCS 5/23-2, an executor who wastes, embezzles, or otherwise mismanages estate property may be removed by the Circuit Court.

Waste means the negligent or intentional depletion of estate assets — for example, allowing real estate to fall into disrepair, failing to collect debts owed to the estate, or selling assets far below market value without court approval. Embezzlement means the executor is taking estate funds for personal use: writing checks to themselves, diverting estate accounts, or converting estate property.

You do not need to wait until money disappears. If the executor is taking actions that are likely to harm the estate — like entering into self-dealing transactions or refusing to liquidate depreciating assets — you can petition for removal before the damage is done.

Evidence used in these cases includes estate account statements, property records, receipts, bank transactions, and testimony about the executor's conduct. The probate court has broad authority to order the executor to restore any property they have wasted or embezzled.

An executor who simply stops doing their job — or refuses to take the steps required by Illinois probate law — can be removed for neglect or failure to perform their duties (755 ILCS 5/23-2(b)).

This includes: failing to file the probate petition within a reasonable time, failing to provide the required creditor notice publication, refusing to file the estate inventory with the court, ignoring requests from beneficiaries for accountings, and failing to pursue or defend claims on behalf of the estate.

Courts distinguish between good-faith delays caused by estate complexity and willful inaction. An executor who has done nothing for 18 months while a probate case sits open, or who repeatedly misses court-ordered deadlines, is a strong candidate for removal. The court can also hold the executor in contempt for willful noncompliance before resorting to removal.

If the executor becomes mentally or physically incapacitated after appointment, the court can remove them even without any wrongdoing. Illinois probate courts have broad discretion to remove an executor who is "unsuitable" — a standard that goes beyond established misconduct to encompass situations where the executor simply cannot or will not do the job effectively.

Examples include: a diagnosis of dementia or severe mental illness that impairs the executor's decision-making, physical illness that makes it impossible to manage the estate, geographic relocation that makes Illinois estate administration impractical, or a pattern of poor judgment that falls short of outright misconduct but demonstrates the executor cannot manage the estate competently.

Courts will weigh the disruption of removing a serving executor against the benefit to the estate and its beneficiaries. Clear evidence of incapacity — such as a medical diagnosis or documented inability to manage basic tasks — makes removal much more straightforward.

An executor owes a fiduciary duty to all beneficiaries of the estate equally. When an executor takes actions that benefit themselves at the expense of other beneficiaries — or acts in their own financial interest rather than the estate's — that is self-dealing, and it is grounds for removal.

Common examples include: an executor who is also a beneficiary and delays distribution to continue collecting executor fees; an executor who purchases estate property at below-market prices; an executor who steers estate business to their own company; or a co-executor who acts unilaterally to benefit one faction of beneficiaries over another.

Illinois courts take executor self-dealing seriously. Even the appearance of a conflict — where the executor stands to personally gain from a decision about the estate — can be enough to justify court scrutiny. Proving actual harm to the estate strengthens a removal petition significantly, but a court can remove an executor preemptively where a serious conflict of interest makes neutral administration impossible.

Illinois law (755 ILCS 5/23-2) lists additional grounds that justify removal, including:

Fraud or misrepresentation: An executor who lied to obtain their appointment, submitted false inventories or accountings, or concealed estate assets can be removed for fraud.

Felony conviction: A conviction of a felony — particularly one involving theft, fraud, or breach of fiduciary duty — is strong grounds for removal, as it goes directly to the executor's fitness to manage estate assets.

Failure to post bond: If the court ordered the executor to post a surety bond and they failed to do so within the required time, the court may remove them for non-compliance.

Endangering estate assets: Any conduct that unreasonably places estate assets at legal or financial risk — even if the executor has not yet caused actual harm — can justify removal where continued service poses a clear threat.