United States Probate Records

United States   Probate Records

Record Overview
Probate records are court records created after an individual's death that relate to a court's decisions regarding the distribution of the estate to the heirs or creditors and the care of dependents. This process took place whether there was a will (testate) or not (intestate). Various types of records are created throughout the probate process. These may include wills, bonds, petitions, accounts, inventories, administrations, orders, decrees, and distributions. These documents are extremely valuable to genealogists and should not be neglected. In many instances, they are the only known source of relevant information such as the decedent’s date of death, names of his or her spouse, children, parents, siblings, in-laws, neighbors, associates, relatives, and their places of residence. You may also learn about the adoption or guardianship of minor children and dependents. Additional clues often found in probate records are an ancestor's previous residence, occupation, land ownership, household items, former spouse(s), religion, and military service.

Probate records are essential for research because they often pre-date the birth and death records kept by civil authorities.

Estates were probated for approximately 25 percent of the heads of households in the United States before 1900, whether or not the individual left a will. The percentage was higher for rural areas than for urban areas because of the greater likelihood of land ownership for farmers. Because wills often list the names of many family members, as much as half the population either left a will or was mentioned in one.

Cautions
While probate records are one of the most accurate sources of genealogical evidence, they must be used with some caution. For example,


 * Not eveyone left an estate that was probated by a court.
 * Those named in the will are not necessarily related to the testator.
 * A wife is not necessarily the mother of the children named.
 * Deceased family members or those who previously received an inheritance might not be mentioned in the records.
 * Probate records can be filed in more than one cabinet, ledger, or packet and in more than one office.
 * Transcribed records might be incomplete, misread, or incorrectly transcribed so consult the original when possible.
 * The county of residence at the time of death usually must be known in order to locate probate records.
 * Rarely do indexes of probate records include every name mentioned in the records.

Jurisdiction
Probate is a function of state governments. Therefore, the laws and resulting records vary from state to state and changed over time. Probate records for many states can be found at the local county courthouse. The particular office of jurisdiction might be that of the Probate Court, the Equity Court, the Register of Wills, the County Clerk, the Circuit Court, or others. Some colonial records were kept by the town or the colony. See the wiki pages of each state for more information on pre-statehood, historical, and current probate records and jurisdictions.

Historical Background
United States probate law derived from English common law and from Spanish community property law, depending on the state. Under English common law, a married woman could only make a will of real property with her husband's consent or with an antenuptial contract. Under Spanish community property law, property acquired while married belongs equally to husband and wife. Arizona, California, Idaho, Louisiana, Nevada, New Mexico, Texas, and Washington are community property states. Probate matters for the original English colonies were handled under English law. Some important sources for these colonial records are:

Proved in London American wills and administrations proved in London have been abstracted and published multiple times. Each edition is listed here, as some are available online, while others are not. In addition, publishers included more detailed abstracts in some editions than others. The 2007 edition includes a place-name index that enables users to pluck out references to specific colonies or states:


 * Coldham, Peter Wilson. English Estates of American Colonists: American Wills and Administrations in the Prerogative Court of Canterbury, 1610-1699. Baltimore: Genealogical Publishing Co., 1980. Digital version at Ancestry ($).
 * Coldham, Peter Wilson. English Estates of American Colonists: American Wills and Administrations in the Prerogative Court of Canterbury, 1700-1799. Baltimore: Genealogical Publishing Co., 1980. Digital version of 1991 reprint available at Ancestry ($).
 * Coldham, Peter Wilson. English Estates of American Colonists: American Wills and Administrations in the Prerogative Court of Canterbury, 1800-1858. Baltimore: Genealogical Publishing Co., 1981. Digital version at Ancestry ($).
 * Coldham, Peter Wilson. American Wills &amp; Administrations in the Prerogative Court of Canterbury, 1610-1857. Baltimore, Md.: Genealogical Publishing Co., 1989. ; digital version at Ancestry ($). Lists over 4,800 wills with name, residence, relatives, and date.
 * Coldham, Peter Wilson. American Wills Proved in London, 1611-1775. Baltimore, Md.: Genealogical Publishing Co., 1992. ; digital version at Ancestry ($). Abstracts over 6,800 wills showing name, residence, occupation, date, and relatives.
 * Coldham, Peter Wilson. North American Wills Registered in London, 1611-1857. Baltimore, Md.: Genealogical Publishing Co., 2007.

If you find a will abstact that interests you in Coldham's books, it is now possible to view digital images of the original Prerogative Court of Canterbury wills online at two United Kingdom pay-per-view websites:


 * Prerogative Court of Canterbury Wills (1384-1858), courtesy: The National Archives, UK.
 * PCC Wills Index and Images (1384-1858), courtesy: The Genealogist. (in progress)

Proved in Edinburgh Other American wills were proved in Edinburgh, Scotland, see:


 * Dobson, David. Scottish-American Wills, 1650-1900. Baltimore, Maryland: Genealogical Publishing Company, 1991. Over 2,000 citations including name, occupation, residence, and date.

Most of these references were taken from the Commissariat Court of Edinburgh (now the Sheriff Court of Edinburgh) and the Index to Personal Estates of Defuncts, 1846-1866. If you find a will abstact that interests you in Dobson's book, it is now possible to view digital images of the original records online at a United Kingdom pay-per-view website:


 * Wills &amp; Testaments (1513-1901), courtesy: Scotlands People

Testate Records vs. Intestate Records
Whether a person has a will or not affects the type of records that will be created in the probate process: Testate--The deceased individual had a will. Intestate--No will was created by the deceased.

Web Sites

 * Anne Roach, Courthouse Records Overview (35 minute online video) FamilySearch Research Classes Online, 2010.


 * Sampubco A gateway to Indexes of Will, Guardianships, Probate Records, and Letters Testamentary


 * The USGenWeb Project