Vermont Probate Records: Difference between revisions

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== Record Synopsis  ==
== Record Synopsis  ==


Probate records are court records created after a person’s death that relate to a court’s decisions regarding the distribution of an estate to  heirs or creditors and the care of dependents. They may include information such as a person’s death date, names of family members (including married daughters), family relationships, and residences. You may also learn about the adoption or guardianship of minor children and dependents. These documents are important to family history researchers because they usually exist for time periods before civil birth and death records were kept. For further information about probate records see the [https://wiki.familysearch.org/en/United_States_Probate_Records United States Probate Records] page.
Probate is the “court procedure by which a will is proved to be valid or invalid” and encompasses “all matters and proceedings pertaining to the administration of estates, guardianships, etc.”<ref>Henry Campbell Black, Black's Law Dictionary, 5th ed. (St. Paul, Minnesota: West Publishing Co., 1979), 1081.</ref> Various types of records are created throughout the probate process. These may include, wills, bonds, petitions, accounts, inventories, administrations, orders, decrees, and distributions. These documents are extremely valuable to genealogists and should not be neglected. In many instances, they are the only known source of relevant information such as the decedent’s date of death, names of his or her spouse, children, parents, siblings, in-laws, neighbors, associates, relatives, and their places of residence. They may also include information about adoption or guardianship of minor children and dependents. For further information about probate records and the probate process see the&nbsp;[https://wiki.familysearch.org/en/United_States_Probate_Records United States Probate Records] page.


== Availability  ==
== Availability  ==
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