A probate clerk, or probate clerk of court, is an official of the courthouse who is professionally trained to serve the public on matters related to the probate and estate settlement process.
What you need to know
Probate clerks are all-around admin support and helpers for probate judges.
Probate clerks are not allowed to give legal advice.
Executors and personal representatives will interact often with probate clerks in the local court of the deceased's domicile.
All courts have staff. Some of those staff are clerks, and therefore probate courts have probate clerks. They're professionals whose job includes helping and managing people going through the probate court office, scheduling court appointments, filing probate forms, and anything the else the judge could use some help with. They will be the lead point of contact for executors and personal representatives looking to settle an estate in a particular jurisdiction.
A probate guide written for people who aren’t lawyers
Probate is notoriously confusing. Small estate affidavits, formal vs. simple administration, executors & executrixes— there’s more than enough jargon to make your head spin. We get it, and that’s why we made a probate guide that actually tells you what you need to know without assuming anything. You’ll walk away with a tangible timeline, actionable next steps and real clarity on what probate actually means for you and your family.
Mary's mother passed away in Illinois last month, specifically in Casey. Mary knew she needed to correspond with the place where her mother was domiciled (permanently resided), so she used a court directory and realized in Illinois there aren't separate probate courts — just circuit courts. She looked up local circuit courts and found they were separated by county.
After confirming her mother's address, she saw that her mother technically lived in Clark County. Mary looked up Clark County Circuit Court, found the address, and dropped by to petition to become the executor of her mother's estate.
After she dropped by, she met Jane, the probate clerk who was there to answer any questions and accept her petition for probate form.
In collaboration with
Ben Hopf
Ben is the Founder and CEO of Atticus and frequent trust and estates contributor with specialized background in generational family wealth planning and transfers. Ben serves on the Executive Board of Directors for the Trust Education Foundation, which oversees internal & external support for the nation's only undergraduate & graduate level Trust & Wealth Management programs, offered exclusively at Campbell University.
Ben is a frequent industry speaker and author across trust, wealth management and fiduciary FinTech conversations.
In collaboration with
This could be you
Atticus values the expertise and professional experience of our partners and community of contributors. And we appreciate that's what makes the fiduciary industry so uniquely special.
After all, being a fiduciary isn't something that's just learned— it's a mindset that's demonstrated, tested and enduringly earned.
That's why Atticus is built around a community of passionate executors, attorneys, wealth advisors, probate clerks and other professional fiduciaries.
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