Alabama Probate Records

Online Resources

 * 1753–1999 Alabama, U.S., Wills and Probate Records, 1753-1999 at Ancestry - index & images ($)
 * 1784-1920 Alabama, Marriages, Deaths, Wills, Court, and Other Records, 1784-1920 at Ancestry - index & images ($)
 * 1808-1870 Index to Alabama Wills, 1808-1870. Online at FamilySearch Digital Library, Ancestry ($); index
 * 1809–1985 at FamilySearch; images — How to Use this Collection
 * 1830–1976 at FamilySearch; index and images (incomplete);  browse images — How to Use this Collection

Indexes for Specific Counties

 * 1840–1950  at FamilySearch; images — How to Use this Collection
 * 1829–1968 at FamilySearch; images — How to Use this Collection

Records
Wills usually mention the names of heirs and frequently specify how those heirs are related. Wills may also list names of children and married names of daughters. Probate records may not give an exact death date, but the death most often occurred within a few months of the date of probate.

Availability
Probate records of Alabama have been kept by the probate court since the counties were created. These courts have records of estate, guardianship, and juvenile cases. The Gandrud and Jones Alabama Records Collection includes some of these records.

The FamilySearch Library has microfilms of probate records from most of the counties in Alabama, generally from the date a county was created to the 1920s. The types of records available from each county vary considerably. For some counties, the library has only the court minutes. Records from other counties include complete probate records, such as dower records, personal property sales, settlement records, orphans’ records, wills, and bonds. The following records are available online as browsable collections. These records are not currently indexed. Select a link below and then search alphabetical files online.

Index
An index for Alabama wills is:


 * Alabama Society DAR. Index to Alabama Wills 1808-1870. Ann Arbor, Mich.: Edwards Brothers, 1955. Online at: FamilySearch Digital Library, Ancestry ($).

Probate records are listed in the Place Search of the FamilySearch Catalog under:


 * ALABAMA - PROBATE RECORDS
 * ALABAMA, [COUNTY] - PROBATE RECORDS
 * ALABAMA, [COUNTY] - GUARDIANSHIPS