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[Denmark, Probate Records (FamilySearch Historical Records)]

Title in the Language of the Record
Danmark, Skifteprotokoller 1854-1926

Record Description
This collection will include Probate records from 1854-1926.

These records are in Danish; see the section "For Help Reading These Records" below for translation helps.

Probate records are court records that describe the distribution of a person's estate after 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. In many areas the probate judge (sorenskriver), who was assigned to prepare the Probate documents and take care of probate cases, began recording probate actions before birth and death records. Probate records for clergy, schoolteachers, and military officers were often kept separate from the regular probate jurisdiction. Church officials would conduct probate for a priest or a schoolteacher, and a commanding officer for a military officer.

The probates are organized by the estate that the place belonged to, not by village or county, so probates for each village will usually be found under two or three different manors. However, if your ancestor lived in a town such as Aarhus, those probates will be listed by that town. If you don't find your ancestors' place name mentioned, then you'll need to search by the parish name, and see if you can find a variation of the place name in the list of places in the parish. You should also do a place search on the Herred and on the Amt under the name used at the time you're interested in; those are generally not included on the parish list. Another possible source of probate information is the Birketing records of the judicial district. Probate records were not created for every person who died. The probate law of 1683 stated that probate was necessary if a parent died and left children that were not of age (age 25). Often an estate was probated even if the children were of age. Although probate records are one of the most accurate sources of genealogical information, the relationships noted in the records may not always have the same meaning today. For instance, a brother-in-law may be recorded as a brother, because legally that made no difference.

The probate process began when the authorities were notified of a death. Thirty days after notification, the authorities held a registration of the estate at the home of the deceased. If the deceased was a parent, the surviving spouse and all children still living at home were to be present. All heirs not living in the parish were allowed a certain time to present themselves to the court. The time allowed was based on how far they had to travel. If a widow was pregnant when her husband died, she had the right to keep possession until after the child's birth. All guardians had to be present when the estate was divided. The probate document was signed by all heirs or their guardians and by the probating authority. No widower or widow could remarry before the estate had been settled in probate. However, a surviving spouse could receive permission from the court to live in an unprobated estate [uskiftet bo]. Under this provision, there could be no distribution of inheritance to the heirs unless the surviving spouse remarried, died, or requested a distribution. All legal heirs who could not manage their own affairs were to have a guardian appointed in their behalf. The law stated that the child's closest relatives were to be appointed guardian, the father's relatives first, then the mother's. If no relatives were available, then the court appointed a guardian. A widow could choose her own guardian subject to the court's approval. Records of guardianship may be kept separately from other probate papers, or a different court may have jurisdiction over guardianship. To view records examples of skifteprotokollerne (administrations of estates) with translations click here.

The Family History Library has an excellent collection of probate records from many areas of Denmark. These are listed in the catalog under DENMARK, COUNTY, PARISH - PROBATE RECORDS. Most records have separate name indexes in either the beginning or the end of the record. Also check the catalog under DENMARK, [COUNTY], [HERRED] - PROBATE RECORDS.

Danish Probate records are available for viewing after 75 years from creation year. The Danish State Archives has a digital index to probate records from 1760 – 1950. Microfilm copies of Probate records may be available at the Danish National Archives but not all older records were preserved.

For a more comprehensive history of the Probate process, record availability, guardianship records, and list of commonly used words, go to the wiki article Denmark Probate Records.

Record Content
Images will be posted as they become available.

Many records have been negatively affected by poor storage conditions, poor ink quality and general wear-and-tear.

[Record Type] may contain the following information: Probate records

Danish Probate Records may contain the following information:


 * Names of the deceased
 * Name of surviving spouse and heirs (including children, siblings, former spouse)
 * Names of Guardians
 * Account of the Estate
 * List of possessions
 * Occupation
 * Residence
 * Date of death

How to Use the Record
Explain what type of information this section includes; that is, what subtopics you include. This section provides information on how to search the collection, what to do with information once found, some tips on how to find records, and what to do if no record is found.

To begin your search it is helpful to know the following:
 * Name (navn)
 * County of residence (amt)
 * Parish of residence (sogn)
 * Town, city and/or street of residence (byen or stednavn)
 * Family relationships (slægt; see Danish word list)
 * Estimated birth year (fødselsdagen)

For more information on using Danish probate records, see

Search the Collection
To browse by image: To search the collection you will need to follow this series of links: ⇒Select "Browse through images" on the initial collection page ⇒ Select the 'Archive' category ⇒ Select the 'Series and title' category ⇒ Select the 'Volume and year' category which takes you to the images.

Search the collection by image comparing the information with what you already know about your ancestors to determine if the image relates to them. You may need to look at several images and compare the information about the individuals listed in those images to your ancestors to make this determination.

For Help Reading These Records
These records are in Danish with the exception of Schleswig and parts of northern Jutland where some records may be in German. A basic understanding of Danish language is needed to read the records. Name places are listed by town, parish (sogn), judicial district (herred), and county (amt) in Denmark.

To be able to read the records, please see the following articles:
 * Danish Word List
 * Denmark Language and Languages
 * The Danish State Archives - Genealogy Page

Using the Information
When you have located your ancestor’s record, carefully evaluate each piece of information. These pieces of information may give you new biographical details that can lead you to other records about your ancestors. For example:
 * use residence and names to locate church, land, and census records leading to relatives names
 * use age to calculate a birth and marriage date to find vital records
 * use names of heirs to locate relatives
 * use clues of debts paid to locate depositions naming relatives

Tips to Keep in Mind
To find your ancestor within a court record, a basic understanding of Danish naming traditions is necessary. See the article Danish Naming Traditions.

When searching court records, it is important to remember the following:
 * Relationships may not be accurate
 * Probate documents were signed by all heirs or guardians and by probate authority
 * Women are usually listed by their maiden surnames (until the late 1800's, depending on the individual).
 * By the late 1800's some families started using a "family" surname. This name might be the last name of the head of household, the last name of the father of head of household, or a place name.
 * Given names may not always be spelled exactly the same or be as complete as those recorded in vital records.
 * When looking for a person who had a common name, look at all the entries for the name before deciding which is correct.
 * Remember that there may be more than one person in the records with the same name as your ancestor and that your ancestor may have used nicknames or different names at different times.
 * Information may be incorrect.
 * Titles may be clues to property ownership, occupations, rank, or status within the community.
 * Continue to search the court records to identify children, siblings, parents, and other relatives who may have been named in the document.
 * Be aware that, as with any index, transcription errors may occur.

Unable to Find Your Ancestor?

 * Check for variant spellings of the names.
 * Search the records of nearby judicial districts, parishes or counties.

General Information about These Records
Examples of what to put in this section:
 * Physical description or format of the original material
 * History of the record
 * Why the record was created
 * Reliability of the information in the record
 * Percentage of the population covered in the record
 * Preservation quality of the record

Other Searches
FHL SEARCH TIP TEMPLATE The following template provides a tip box, notifying users that the FHL catalog may contain more information and providing links to the place and keywords for the locality of interest. For this template, include the version best fitting the locality. The templates below include template versions for various locality levels.

If you want to include a template for a foreign locality and provide, respectively, the (1) state, (2) the state and county, or (3) the state, county, and city, use the templates below:

If you want to include a template for a locality but not include the sentence with a link to an archives and libraries page, use the templates below:

Please note that there is an option for a fourth level. For the United States, include “|USfour” to activate the fourth level. For a foreign locality, include “|foreignfour” to activate the fourth level.

Related Websites

 * The Danish State Archives - Probates
 * The Danish State Archives - Genealogy Page
 * Probate Index: Thisted, Viborg, Aalborg, and Randers Counties
 * Mary’s Genealogy Treasures
 * Finding Probate Records in LDS Family History Library Catalog

Related Wiki Articles

 * Listing of Probates Extracted
 * Denmark Probate Records
 * Denmark
 * Danish Word List
 * Denmark Language and Languages

Citations for This Collection
When you copy information from a record, you should list where you found the information; that is, cite your sources. This will help people find the record again and evaluate the reliability of the source. It is also good to keep track of records where you did not find information, including the names of the people you looked for in the records. Citations are available for the collection as a whole and each record or image individually. Collection Citation:

Image Citation: