Cook County Transfer on Death Instrument Form (Illinois)
All Cook County specific forms and documents listed below are included in your immediate download package:
Transfer on Death Instrument
Fill in the blank form formatted to comply with all recording and content requirements.
Included Cook County compliant document last validated/updated 5/30/2025
Transfer on Death Instrument Guide
Line by line guide explaining every blank on the form.
Included Cook County compliant document last validated/updated 3/25/2025
Completed Example of the Transfer on Death Instrument Document
Example of a properly completed Illinois Transfer on Death Instrument document for reference.
Included Cook County compliant document last validated/updated 12/20/2024
The following Illinois and Cook County supplemental forms are included as a courtesy with your order:
When using these Transfer on Death Instrument forms, the subject real estate must be physically located in Cook County. The executed documents should then be recorded in one of the following offices:
Downtown Office Chicago Court Building
118 N Clark St, Rm 120, Chicago, Illinois 60602
Hours: 9:00 a.m. - 5:00 p.m. M-F
Phone: (312) 603-5050
Markham Court Building
16501 S Kedzie, Rm 238C, Markham, Illinois 60426
Hours: 8:30 a.m. - 4:30 p.m. M-F (Note: ALL DOCUMENTS must be recorded at the Clerk's downtown office)
Phone: (708) 210-4448
Rolling Meadows Court Building
2121 Euclid Ave, Rm 238, Rolling Meadows, Illinois 60008
Hours: 8:30 a.m. - 4:30 p.m. M-F (Note: ALL DOCUMENTS must be recorded at the Clerk's downtown office)
Phone: (847) 818-2070
Bridgeview Court Building
10220 S 76th Ave, Rm 238, Bridgeview, Illinois 60455
Hours: 8:30 a.m. - 4:30 p.m. M-F (Note: ALL DOCUMENTS must be recorded at the Clerk's downtown office)
Phone: (708) 974-6397
Local jurisdictions located in Cook County include:
- Alsip
- Arlington Heights
- Bedford Park
- Bellwood
- Berkeley
- Berwyn
- Blue Island
- Bridgeview
- Broadview
- Brookfield
- Burbank
- Calumet City
- Chicago
- Chicago Heights
- Chicago Ridge
- Cicero
- Country Club Hills
- Des Plaines
- Dolton
- Elk Grove Village
- Elmwood Park
- Evanston
- Evergreen Park
- Flossmoor
- Forest Park
- Franklin Park
- Glencoe
- Glenview
- Glenwood
- Golf
- Hanover Park
- Harvey
- Harwood Heights
- Hazel Crest
- Hickory Hills
- Hillside
- Hines
- Hoffman Estates
- Hometown
- Homewood
- Justice
- Kenilworth
- La Grange
- La Grange Park
- Lansing
- Lemont
- Lincolnwood
- Lyons
- Markham
- Matteson
- Maywood
- Melrose Park
- Midlothian
- Morton Grove
- Mount Prospect
- Niles
- Northbrook
- Oak Forest
- Oak Lawn
- Oak Park
- Olympia Fields
- Orland Park
- Palatine
- Palos Heights
- Palos Hills
- Palos Park
- Park Forest
- Park Ridge
- Posen
- Prospect Heights
- Richton Park
- River Forest
- River Grove
- Riverdale
- Riverside
- Robbins
- Rolling Meadows
- Schaumburg
- Schiller Park
- Skokie
- South Holland
- Steger
- Stone Park
- Streamwood
- Summit Argo
- Techny
- Thornton
- Tinley Park
- Westchester
- Western Springs
- Wheeling
- Willow Springs
- Wilmette
- Winnetka
- Worth
How long does it take to get my forms?
Forms are available immediately after submitting payment.
How do I get my forms, are they emailed?
Immediately after you submit payment, the Cook County forms you order will be available for download directly from your account. You can then download the forms to your computer. If you do not already have an account, one will be created for you as part of the order process, and your login details will be provided to you. If you encounter any issues accessing your forms, please reach out to our support team for assistance. Forms are NOT emailed to you.
What does "validated/updated" mean?
This indicates the most recent date when at least one of the following occurred:
- Updated: The document was updated or changed to remain compliant.
- Validated: The document was examined by an attorney or staff, or it was successfully recorded in Cook County using our eRecording service.
Are these forms guaranteed to be recordable in Cook County?
Yes. Our form blanks are guaranteed to meet or exceed all formatting requirements set forth by Cook County including margin requirements, content requirements, font and font size requirements.
Can the Transfer on Death Instrument forms be re-used?
Yes. You can re-use the forms for your personal use. For example, if you have more than one property in Cook County that you need to transfer you would only need to order our forms once for all of your properties in Cook County.
What are supplemental forms?
Often when a deed is recorded, additional documents are required by Illinois or Cook County. These could be tax related, informational, or even as simple as a coversheet. Supplemental forms are provided for free with your order where available.
What type of files are the forms?
All of our Cook County Transfer on Death Instrument forms are PDFs. You will need to have or get Adobe Reader to use our forms. Adobe Reader is free software that most computers already have installed.
Do I need any special software to use these forms?
You will need to have Adobe Reader installed on your computer to use our forms. Adobe Reader is free software that most computers already have installed.
Do I have to enter all of my property information online?
No. The blank forms are downloaded to your computer and you fill them out there, at your convenience.
Can I save the completed form, email it to someone?
Yes, you can save your deed form at any point with your information in it. The forms can also be emailed, blank or complete, as attachments.
Are there any recurring fees involved?
No. Nothing to cancel, no memberships, no recurring fees.
Comparable to Ladybird, beneficiary, and enhanced life estate deeds, these instruments permit homeowners to name a beneficiary to gain title to their residential real property following the owner's death, while retaining absolute possession of and control over the property while alive. Because the Illinois document DOES NOT transfer ownership when it's executed, the owner may revoke the transfer at will, and is allowed to reallocate, sell, or otherwise dispose of the real estate as desired with no penalties, restrictions or obligation.
(Illinois Transfer on Death Package includes form, guidelines, and completed example)
Our Promise
The documents you receive here will meet, or exceed, the Cook County recording requirements for formatting. If there's an issue caused by our formatting, we'll make it right and refund your payment.
Save Time and Money
Get your Cook County Transfer on Death Instrument form done right the first time with Deeds.com Uniform Conveyancing Blanks. At Deeds.com, we understand that your time and money are valuable resources, and we don't want you to face a penalty fee or rejection imposed by a county recorder for submitting nonstandard documents. We constantly review and update our forms to meet rapidly changing state and county recording requirements for roughly 3,500 counties and local jurisdictions.
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June 30th, 2025
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Robert F.
June 30th, 2025
Breeze.... It feels silly to hire an attorney to do this for just one beneficiary. Thanks.
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June 29th, 2025
Everything that was stated to be included in my order was complete. Very satisfied
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September 2nd, 2020
I was counting on deeds.com to help me with a closing I was working on. I stumbled with the instructions but when I recovered there were no problems. The instructions were helpful and the deeds etc. were just what I needed. I give deeds five stars. I am 76 years old and when the application asks for the user's name I always think they want my name. WRONG. I am trying to learn computer speak.
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Leonard H.
November 21st, 2019
Just perfect for what I needed. Made the property transfer very easy.
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James S.
January 21st, 2019
Order Process: 5 Stars - very easy
Material Received: 2 Stars
Issues:
1. Printing- Document would not print in format displayed. Format would continually shrink to approx 2/3 size thus not useable for formal doc submission to County Records office.
2. Document Format- Data insertion fields (addresses) were not of correct size for data input. I needed a 4 line input space but was limited to only 3 lines. Also, Date field (year) was mis-oriented in-so-much that the 3rd digit (inputted) overlapped on 2nd digit (pre-printed) and also was of noticeably different font.
3. Useability- Hand-written input space provided (for Notary) was deficient in space and spacing. It was a challenge to utilize the space available to complete fully and maintain legibility.
Overall - the document worked marginally as advertised, I did need to re-write the entire document myself. It is a good concept but I'd recommend that Deeds company improve the downloaded forms for actual useability, readability, functionability.
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May 19th, 2020
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September 29th, 2021
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February 11th, 2019
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May 12th, 2019
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October 30th, 2019
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