Vermont Probate Records: Difference between revisions

Probate records of [[Vermont|Vermont]] are kept by probate courts. The records include wills, inventories, estates, guardianships, name changes, adoptions, and relinquishments. There are 14 counties and 18 probate districts in Vermont. The four southern counties (Bennington, Rutland, Windham, and Windsor) have two probate courts each. You can obtain copies of the records by contacting the clerk of the appropriate probate district.  

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.