South Australia Probate Records

Australia

South Australia

Probate Records

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Online Records

• Australia, South Australia, Will and Probate Records at FamilySearch - How to Use this Collection; index
• 1840 to 2018 South Australian Public Trustees/Deceased Estates, 1840 to 2018 in Genealogy SA Online Database Search.
• 1844-1891 Index to GRS 1334/1 - Probate files (wills), 1844-1891 State Archives
• 1844-1890 Australia, South Australia, Probate and administration books, numerical series, 1844-1890 at FamilySearch, index & images.
• 1875-1935 Australia, South Australia, Succession duty "Old Act and "New Act" files, 1875-1935 at FamilySearch, images.
• 1875-1892 GRG84/9 - Index to succession duty 'Old Act' files, 1875 - 1892 A - Z, arranged alphabetically by surname State Archives
• 1892-1916 Australia, South Australia, probate and administration books, 1892-1916 at FamilySearch, index & images.
• 1893-1927 GRG84/9 - Index to succession duty 'New Act' files, 1893 - 1927 A - Z, arranged alphabetically by surname State Archives

New South Wales Online Records, Including South Australia Prior to 1825

• 1787-1976 New South Wales, Australia, Miscellaneous Records, 1787-1976 at Ancestry, contains some probate records, images ($)
• 1790-1875 Probate Records - Supplementary Index, 1790 to 1875 at New South Wales Archives, index. This index is for supplementary (early) probate records that are not part of the main probate series. It records the name, date, item number and page number.
• 1790-1814 Probate papers 1790-1814, New South Wales Supreme Court at FamilySearch, images.
• 1800-1931 Registers of copy wills in New South Wales, 1800-1931 at FamilySearch, images.
• 1821-1937 New South Wales, Australia, Registers of Coroners' Inquests, 1821-1937 at Ancestry, index, browse, and images ($).

Archives

South Australia State Records
Research Centre
115 Cavan Road
Gepps Cross
South Australia 5094

Postal Address
GPO Box 464
Adelaide 5001

Ph: 08 7322 7077
Email: Staterecords@sa.gov.au

• Family History Research
• Research Centre
• Indexes and Special Lists

South Australian Probate Registry

One of the roles of the Supreme Court of South Australia is to make orders in relation to the validity of a Will of a deceased person, appoint an executor or an administrator, and the administration of a deceased estate. The Probate Registry is the registry of the court which deals with applications for grants of probate or administration and other related matters. The registry keeps a register of probates and administrations granted by the court.

The Probate Registry manages this work for the court and maintains the records.

There are three types of grants: Probate, Letters of Administration with the Will annexed, and Letters of Administration.

Once the legal process has been completed the public can access these documents and Wills in particular are a useful resource for family historians. As a rule of thumb the older the Will the more informative it will be be as early Wills went to great lengths to clearly identify the beneficiaries.
probate
The Probate Registry at 1 Gouger Street Adelaide (pictured) holds the index of all Wills to 1999 in the public area. Those seeking a Will can extract the references from the index and order the Will which will be available about three days later. You can opt to have the document posted to you. You can access a poor quality fiche version of the index at the State Library and the SA Genealogy & Heraldry Society.

If you require a Will from 2000 you need to approach the counter staff at the Probate Registry with the full name and date of death in the case of a common name. You cannot access a Will until Probate has been granted and the assets distributed.

You cannot view the Will before purchase and so you may purchase a document that is of little help in your research. If you live away from Adelaide application can be made with a SSAE envelope and the reply will advise availability and request fee payment.

Sometimes the index will have PT as the reference which means that the Public Trustee at
25 Franklin Street Adelaide holds the Will. Sometimes a search will reveal the Will is not available. This usually indicates that the document was passed on to another jurisdiction who had an interest (such as another probate registry outside of the state). This occurs rarely and before the days of photocopiers.

To access available information, first log into FamilySearch.

This website requires a paid subscription for full access. Some subscription websites are available for free at your local FamilySearch Center or Affiliate Library.