Jewish Court Records

Court records contain information about people involved in litigation or other court matters. These records include names of people who were parties to court action, family relationships, places of residence, occupations, descriptions of individuals, and other family information. The records to be searched are determined by the country you are researching. See "Court Records" in the outlines of the countries or states you are researching.

The Family History Library has some court records. Check for these records in the Family History Library Catalog.

Because of their importance to family history research, probate and naturalization records are discussed in separate sections in this outline.

Divorce Records
Depending on the time period and place, divorces before the mid-20th century were often uncommon, illegal, or allowed for specific religious groups only. Civil officials in the Russian Empire kept divorce records only for Jews. While divorce was an accepted practice among Jews, records of divorce were seldom kept by the synagogue.

Divorce records are often not open to the public. The Family History Library has some records of divorce in its collection. Most divorce records are found in the civil registration or vital records office of the town or county where the divorce took place or in court records. See "Civil Registration" and "Vital Records" in this outline and in the outlines of the countries or states you are researching.