No assignment, transfer or other disposition by an heir or distributee of his or her interest in the possession of an administrator or executor shall defeat the deduction order, unless (1) prior to the service of summons upon the administrator or executor, the transfer or other disposition is reduced to writing and (2) the writing is filed in the office of the clerk of the court appointing the executor or administrator.
12-816.Assignment, transfer or other disposition.
Article XII. Judgments - Enforcement · Part 8. Wage Deductions · Not amended since adoption on record · Last verified July 20, 2026
In one sentenceProtects a wage deduction order against a later assignment or transfer of an heir's or distributee's estate interest, unless that transfer was reduced to writing and filed with the court before the administrator or executor was served with summons.
Full Text of 735 ILCS 5/12-816
Plain-English Summary
Section 12-816 addresses interests an heir or distributee holds in the possession of an estate's administrator or executor. No assignment, transfer, or other disposition of that interest can defeat a deduction order unless two things both happened first: the transfer was reduced to writing before the administrator or executor was served with summons, and that writing was filed in the office of the clerk of the court that appointed the executor or administrator.
Both conditions have to be met in the right order. A transfer made or documented only after the administrator or executor has been served comes too late to defeat the deduction order, no matter how it is later characterized. And a writing that exists but is never filed with the appointing court's clerk likewise does not defeat the order. The rule keeps a debtor from sidestepping a wage deduction order by quietly reassigning an inheritance interest after the case is already underway.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can a debtor avoid a wage deduction order by assigning away an interest held by an estate's executor?
Only if the assignment or transfer was reduced to writing before the administrator or executor was served with summons, and the writing was filed with the clerk of the court that appointed the executor or administrator.
What two things must happen for a transfer to defeat the deduction order?
First, the transfer must be reduced to writing before service of summons on the administrator or executor. Second, that writing must be filed in the office of the clerk of the court that made the appointment.
What if the transfer is made after the administrator or executor is served with summons?
It does not defeat the deduction order -- the statute requires the writing to predate service on the administrator or executor.
Where must the writing evidencing the transfer be filed?
In the office of the clerk of the court that appointed the executor or administrator holding the heir's or distributee's interest.
Who does Section 12-816 protect -- the creditor or the debtor's transferee?
It protects the judgment creditor's deduction order from being defeated by a transfer that wasn't documented and filed before the administrator or executor was served.
Amendment History
(Source: P.A. 82-280.)
Source & verification. Section text and amendment history are
reproduced verbatim from the Illinois Compiled Statutes, published by the
Illinois Compiled Statutes, Illinois General Assembly / Legislative Reference Bureau. Last verified July 20, 2026.
· Official source
Also known as: heir assignment wage deduction illinoisestate distribution garnishment illinoistransfer of inheritance interest garnishmentdefeating a deduction order by assignment illinois