Arizona, Maricopa County Probate Records - FamilySearch Historical Records

What is in This Collection?
This collection contains images of the probate case files from the Maricopa County Superior Court for the years 1870 to 1930.

Probate records are used to legally dispose of a person’s estate after his or her death. The probate process transfers the legal responsibility for payment of taxes, care and custody of dependent family members, liquidation of debts, and transfer of property title. The transfer is to an executor or executrix if the deceased had made a will, to an administrator or administratrix if the deceased had not made a will, or to a guardian or conservator if the deceased had heirs under the age of twenty-one or if heirs were incompetent due to disease or disability.

Probate records fall into two general categories: wills and estate papers. Most records mention the names of heirs and frequently specify how those heirs are related. Names of children may be given, as well as married names of daughters. Probate records may not give an exact death date, but a death most often occurred within a few months of the date of probate. The exact contents of probate records vary greatly depending on the prevailing law and the personality of the record keeper.

Probate records were court documents and may have involved loose papers and/or bound volumes generally known as an estate file or probate packet. These files included all documents related to estate settlement, such as: • 2 Other records pertaining to the probate case files include: • 3

What Can These Records Tell Me?
The following information may be found in these records:
 * The name of testator or deceased
 * Names of heirs such as spouse, children, and other relatives or friends
 * Names of witnesses
 * Residence of testator
 * Lists of belongings, property, and so forth
 * Document and recording dates (Sometimes the date of death will be given. Recording dates are also used to approximate event dates, i.e. a letter of administration was usually written shortly after the time of death.)

How Do I Search This Collection?
Before searching this collection, it is helpful to know:
 * The name of the deceased
 * The approximate death or probate date
 * The names of family members or associates named in the probate file

How Do I Analyze the Results?
Compare each result from your search with what you know to determine if there is a match. This may require viewing multiple records or images. Keep track of your research in a research log.

What Do I Do Next?

 * Whenever possible, view the original records to verify the information and to find additional information that might not be reported. These pieces of information can lead you to additional records and family members

I Found the Person I Was Looking For, What Now?

 * Add any new information to your records
 * Use probate records to identify heirs and relatives
 * Use the document (such as the will) or the recording dates to approximate a death date
 * Use the information in the probate record to substitute for civil birth and death records since the probates exist for an earlier time period
 * You may be able to use the probate record to learn about land transactions
 * Use the birth date or age along with the residence or place of birth of the deceased to locate census, church, and land records
 * Use the occupations listed to find other types of records such as employment records or military records

I Can’t Find the Person I’m Looking For, What Now?

 * Remember that there may be more than one person in the records with the same name
 * Collect entries for every person who has the same surname. This list can help you identify possible relations that can be verified by records
 * If you cannot locate your ancestor in the locality in which you believe they lived, then try searching records of a nearby locality
 * Standard spelling of names typically did not exist during the periods our ancestors lived in. Try variations of your ancestor’s name while searching the index or browsing through images
 * Remember that sometimes individuals went by nicknames or alternated between using first and middle names. Try searching for these names as well

Research Helps
The following articles will help you in your research for your family in the state of Arizona.
 * Beginning Research in United States Probate Records
 * Arizona Guided Research
 * Arizona Research Tips and Strategies
 * Step-by-Step Research: 1850-1910 &#124; 1900-Present

Related Family History Library Holdings

 * Probate records of Maricopa County, ca. 1870-1930
 * Registers of births and deaths, Maricopa County, 1881-1909

Related FamilySearch Historical Records Collections

 * Arizona Deaths, 1870-1951

Citing This Collection
Citations help you keep track of places you have searched and sources you have found. Identifying your sources helps others find the records you used.

Arizona, condado de Maricopa, archivos de casos de sucesión (Registros históricos de FamilySearch)