Chile Probate Records

The wills (testamentos) in notarial records describe the distribution of a person’s estate after his or her death. Information in the records may include the death date, names of heirs and guardians, relationships, residences, an inventory of the estate, and names of witnesses.

Probate records are usually not of practical genealogical value in Chilean research. Other sources such as church records and civil registration cover a larger percentage of the population, and probate records are difficult to access.

The Family History Library does not have copies of the probate records for Chile. These records may still be found in local notarial offices, province and city archives, notarial archives, or municipality courts. (See the "Notarial Records" section of this outline for more information.)