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*'''Filing a Petition''': A petition began the probate process by informing the probate court that an individual had died and that their estate should enter probate. The petition was presented by an executor (male) or executrix (female) who was named in a will written by the deceased individual. If the estate was intestate, an interested person (usually a widow, adult children, or creditor) filed a petition with the court to begin the probate process and a court date was set. Petitions may (although not always) include the deceased person’s date and place of death or list all potential heirs and their current residence. The petition proceedings were recorded in the probate minute book. | *'''Filing a Petition''': A petition began the probate process by informing the probate court that an individual had died and that their estate should enter probate. The petition was presented by an executor (male) or executrix (female) who was named in a will written by the deceased individual. If the estate was intestate, an interested person (usually a widow, adult children, or creditor) filed a petition with the court to begin the probate process and a court date was set. Petitions may (although not always) include the deceased person’s date and place of death or list all potential heirs and their current residence. The petition proceedings were recorded in the probate minute book. | ||
*'''Publications:''' Throughout the probate process,'''notifications were published in the local newspaper''', usually for three weeks, beginning with the petition. Other notices, such as an auction of the personal effects, sale of the land, or notice to the creditors, were also made public. A law required that the publication notices be preserved and this notice became part of the probate packet. Search for probate publications in online newspapers for the area you are researching at websites such as Chronicling America at http://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/, MyHeritage.com, and NewspaperArchives.com (free at | *'''Publications:''' Throughout the probate process,'''notifications were published in the local newspaper''', usually for three weeks, beginning with the petition. Other notices, such as an auction of the personal effects, sale of the land, or notice to the creditors, were also made public. A law required that the publication notices be preserved and this notice became part of the probate packet. Search for probate publications in online newspapers for the area you are researching at websites such as Chronicling America at http://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/, MyHeritage.com, and NewspaperArchives.com (free at FamilySearch Centers). | ||
====The will==== | ====The will==== | ||
*'''Proving the Will:''' If there was a will, the witnesses to a will testified in court that they were present when the will was signed and that the deceased person was of sound mind when he signed the will and that he signed it of his own free will. If anyone wished to contest the validity of the will, they presented their case at this time. Once a will had been '''proved''', it was copied into the court records with a statement indicating that it has been proved. The original will was usually kept in the probate packet. For genealogists, the proving of the will can be used to determine an approximate date of death when no other records of death exist. | *'''Proving the Will:''' If there was a will, the witnesses to a will testified in court that they were present when the will was signed and that the deceased person was of sound mind when he signed the will and that he signed it of his own free will. If anyone wished to contest the validity of the will, they presented their case at this time. Once a will had been '''proved''', it was copied into the court records with a statement indicating that it has been proved. The original will was usually kept in the probate packet. For genealogists, the proving of the will can be used to determine an approximate date of death when no other records of death exist. | ||
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