Probate Records: Difference between revisions
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<li>[[Alabama | <li>[[Alabama, United States Genealogy|Alabama]]</li> | ||
<li>[[Alaska | <li>[[Alaska, United States Genealogy|Alaska]]</li> | ||
<li>[[Arizona | <li>[[Arizona, United States Genealogy|Arizona]]</li> | ||
<li>[[Arkansas | <li>[[Arkansas, United States Genealogy|Arkansas]]</li> | ||
<li>[[California | <li>[[California, United States Genealogy|California]]</li> | ||
<li>[[Colorado | <li>[[Colorado, United States Genealogy|Colorado]]</li> | ||
<li>[[Connecticut | <li>[[Connecticut, United States Genealogy|Connecticut]]</li> | ||
<li>[[Delaware | <li>[[Delaware, United States Genealogy|Delaware]]</li> | ||
<li>[[Florida, United States Genealogy|Florida]]</li> | |||
<li>[[Florida | <li>[[Georgia, United States Genealogy|Georgia]]</li> | ||
<li>[[Georgia | <li>[[Hawaii, United States Genealogy|Hawaii]]</li> | ||
<li>[[Hawaii | <li>[[Idaho, United States Genealogy|Idaho]]</li> | ||
<li>[[Idaho | <li>[[Illinois, United States Genealogy|Illinois]]</li> | ||
<li>[[Illinois | <li>[[Indiana, United States Genealogy|Indiana]]</li> | ||
<li>[[Indiana | <li>[[Iowa, United States Genealogy|Iowa]]</li> | ||
<li>[[Iowa | <li>[[Kansas, United States Genealogy|Kansas]]</li> | ||
<li>[[Kansas | <li>[[Kentucky, United States Genealogy|Kentucky]]</li> | ||
<li>[[Kentucky | <li>[[Louisiana, United States Genealogy|Louisiana]]</li> | ||
<li>[[Louisiana | <li>[[Maine, United States Genealogy|Maine]]</li> | ||
<li>[[Maine | <li>[[Maryland, United States Genealogy|Maryland]]</li> | ||
<li>[[Maryland | <li>[[Massachusetts, United States Genealogy|Massachusetts]]</li> | ||
<li>[[Massachusetts | <li>[[Michigan, United States Genealogy|Michigan]]</li> | ||
<li>[[Michigan | <li>[[Minnesota, United States Genealogy|Minnesota]]</li> | ||
<li>[[Minnesota | <li>[[Mississippi, United States Genealogy|Mississippi]]</li> | ||
<li>[[Mississippi | <li>[[Missouri, United States Genealogy|Missouri]]</li> | ||
<li>[[Missouri | <li>[[Montana, United States Genealogy|Montana]]</li> | ||
<li>[[Montana | <li>[[Nebraska, United States Genealogy|Nebraska]]</li> | ||
<li>[[Nebraska | <li>[[Nevada, United States Genealogy|Nevada]]</li> | ||
<li>[[Nevada | <li>[[New Hampshire, United States Genealogy|New Hampshire]]</li> | ||
<li>[[New Hampshire | <li>[[New Jersey, United States Genealogy|New Jersey]]</li> | ||
<li>[[New Jersey | <li>[[New Mexico, United States Genealogy|New Mexico]]</li> | ||
<li>[[New Mexico | <li>[[New York, United States Genealogy|New York]]</li> | ||
<li>[[New York | <li>[[North Carolina, United States Genealogy|North Carolina]]</li> | ||
<li>[[North Carolina | <li>[[North Dakota, United States Genealogy|North Dakota]]</li> | ||
<li>[[North Dakota | <li>[[Ohio, United States Genealogy|Ohio]]</li> | ||
<li>[[Ohio | <li>[[Oklahoma, United States Genealogy|Oklahoma]]</li> | ||
<li>[[Oklahoma | <li>[[Oregon, United States Genealogy|Oregon]]</li> | ||
<li>[[Oregon | <li>[[Pennsylvania, United States Genealogy|Pennsylvania]]</li> | ||
<li>[[Pennsylvania | <li>[[Rhode Island, United States Genealogy|Rhode Island]]</li> | ||
<li>[[Rhode Island | <li>[[South Carolina, United States Genealogy|South Carolina]]</li> | ||
<li>[[South Carolina | <li>[[South Dakota, United States Genealogy|South Dakota]]</li> | ||
<li>[[South Dakota | <li>[[Tennessee, United States Genealogy|Tennessee]]</li> | ||
<li>[[Tennessee | <li>[[Texas, United States Genealogy|Texas]]</li> | ||
<li>[[Texas | <li>[[Utah, United States Genealogy|Utah]]</li> | ||
<li>[[Utah | <li>[[Vermont, United States Genealogy|Vermont]]</li> | ||
<li>[[Vermont | <li>[[Virginia, United States Genealogy|Virginia]]</li> | ||
<li>[[Virginia | <li>[[Washington, United States Genealogy|Washington]]</li> | ||
<li>[[Washington | <li>[[West Virginia, United States Genealogy|West Virginia]]</li> | ||
<li>[[West Virginia | <li>[[Wisconsin, United States Genealogy|Wisconsin]]</li> | ||
<li>[[Wisconsin | <li>[[Wyoming, United States Genealogy|Wyoming]]</li> | ||
<li>[[Wyoming | |||
</ul> | </ul> | ||
|} | |} |
Revision as of 10:27, 10 April 2023
Guide to locating probate records for ancestry, family history, and genealogy research.
Online Resources[edit | edit source]
- To access probate records for a specific county use the links to country pages below.
What are probate records?[edit | edit source]
- Probate is the legal process distributing real estate (property) and personal estate (possessions) to a person's heirs.
- Testate is the term used when a will existed. Intestate means there was no will, and the court administers and distributes the estate.
- Other documents may be found in the full probate packet.
- Probate records are available for only about 10% of families, usually landowners and the wealthy. Most farmers, merchants, and artisans did not own their own farms or shops and did not leave wills.
- Probate records often pre-date other birth and death records.
- Wills are found in the town or county where the person lived when the will was made or where they died.
- Depending on the country, probate records can be found online as digital images. For the United States, an experimental index of many county probate records is available to search.
- United States Wills and Deeds Experimental Search at FamilySearch
What can you find in probate records?[edit | edit source]
Information recorded may include:
- the death date
- names of heirs
- family members
- guardians
- relationships
- residences
- inventories of the estate (including trade and household goods)
- names of witnesses
- names of executors
How do you find Probate Records?[edit | edit source]
United States[edit | edit source]
- Probate records are kept on the county level for most of the United States and any online records will be found in the corresponding county Wiki pages.
- For general information about probate records, see United States Probate Records
- United States Wills and Deeds Experimental Search at FamilySearch - try this index to probate records for the United States.
- Select a State then go to the clickable map to select the county your ancestor died in.
- Alabama
- Alaska
- Arizona
- Arkansas
- California
- Colorado
- Connecticut
- Delaware
- Florida
- Georgia
- Hawaii
- Idaho
- Illinois
- Indiana
- Iowa
- Kansas
- Kentucky
- Louisiana
- Maine
- Maryland
- Massachusetts
- Michigan
- Minnesota
- Mississippi
- Missouri
- Montana
- Nebraska
- Nevada
- New Hampshire
- New Jersey
- New Mexico
- New York
- North Carolina
- North Dakota
- Ohio
- Oklahoma
- Oregon
- Pennsylvania
- Rhode Island
- South Carolina
- South Dakota
- Tennessee
- Texas
- Utah
- Vermont
- Virginia
- Washington
- West Virginia
- Wisconsin
- Wyoming
Canada Probate Records[edit | edit source]
- Probate records are kept on the county or district level for most of Canada and any online records.
- For general information about probate records, see Canada Probate Records
- Select a province then go to the clickable map to select the county or district your ancestor died in.
- Alberta
- British Columbia
- Manitoba
- New Brunswick
- Newfoundland & Labrador
- Northwest Territories
- Nova Scotia
- Nunavut
- Ontario
- Prince Edward Island
- Quebec
- Saskatchewan
- Yukon
British Isles[edit | edit source]
- Probate records are kept on the county for British Isles countries.
- Select a country then go to the clickable map to select the county your ancestor died in.
Europe[edit | edit source]
- Albania
- Andorra
- Armenia
- Austria
- Azerbaijan
- Belarus
- Belgium
- Bosnia and Herzegovina
- Bulgaria
- Croatia
- Cyprus
- Czechia
- Denmark
- Estonia
- Finland
- France
- Georgia
- Gibraltar
- Germany
- Greece
- Hungary
- Iceland
- Italy
- Kosovo
- Latvia
- Liechtenstein
- Lithuania
- Luxembourg
- Malta
- Moldova
- Monaco
- Montenegro
- The Netherlands
- North Macedonia
- Norway
- Poland
- Portugal
- Romania
- Russia
- San Marino
- Serbia
- Slovakia
- Slovenia
- Spain
- Sweden
- Switzerland
- Ukraine
- Vatican City
Asia[edit | edit source]
- Afghanistan
- Bangladesh
- Brunei
- Bhutan
- British Indian Ocean Territory
- Cambodia
- China
- East Timor (Timor-Leste)
- Hong Kong
- India
- Indonesia
- Japan
- Kazakhstan
- Kyrgyzstan
- Laos
- Macau
- Malaysia
- Maldives
- Mongolia
- Myanmar (Burma)
- Nepal
- North Korea
- Pakistan
- Philippines
- Singapore
- South Korea
- Sri Lanka
- Taiwan
- Tajikistan
- Thailand
- Turkmenistan
- Uzbekistan
- Vietnam
Africa[edit | edit source]
- Algeria
- Angola
- Benin
- Botswana
- Burkina Faso
- Burundi
- Cameroon
- Cape Verde
- Central African Republic
- Chad
- Comoros
- Congo, Democratic Republic of the
- Congo, Republic of the
- Djibouti
- Egypt
- Equatorial Guinea
- Eritrea
- Eswatini
- Ethiopia
- Gabon
- The Gambia
- Ghana
- Guinea
- Guinea-Bissau
- Cote d'Ivoire (Ivory Coast)
- Kenya
- Lesotho
- Liberia
- Libya
- Madagascar
- Malawi
- Mali
- Mauritania
- Mauritius
- Mayotte (France)
- Morocco
- Mozambique
- Namibia
- Niger
- Nigeria
- Réunion (France)
- Rwanda
- Saint Helena (UK)
- Sao Tome and Principe
- Senegal
- Seychelles
- Sierra Leone
- Somalia
- South Africa
- South Sudan
- Sudan
- Tanzania
- Togo
- Tunisia
- Uganda
- Western Sahara
- Zambia
- Zimbabwe
Oceania[edit | edit source]
- American Samoa
- Australia
- Cook Islands
- Federated States of Micronesia
- Fiji
- French Polynesia
- Guam
- Kiribati
- Marshall Islands
- Nauru
- New Caledonia
- New Zealand
- Niue
- Norfolk Island
- Northern Mariana Islands
- Palau
- Papua New Guinea
- Pitcairn Islands
- Samoa
- Solomon Islands
- Tokelau
- Tonga
- Tuvalu
- Vanuatu
- Wallis and Futuna