Illinois Probate Records: Difference between revisions

Revision as of 08:28, 1 September 2010

Record Synopsis[edit | edit source]

Probate encompasses all matters and proceedings pertaining to the administration of estates, whether there is a will (testate) or not (intestate). 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.

Cautions

Those named in the will are not necessarily related to the testator.
* A wife is not necessarily the mother of the children named.
* Probate records can be filed in more than one cabinet, ledger, or packet and in more than one office.

Probate records may not give an exact death date, but the death most often occurred within a few months of the date of probate. Wills usually mention the names of heirs and frequently specify how those heirs are related. Names of children are given, as well as married names of daughters.

Jurisdictions[edit | edit source]

Clerk of County's Commissioners' Court (1819 - 1821)
County Probate Court (1821 - 1848)
County Probate Court (for counties with 50,000+ population) (1870 - 1964)
County Court (1848 - 1964)
Circuit Court (1964 - present)

Obtaining the Records[edit | edit source]

Repositories[edit | edit source]

State

The Illinois Regional Archives Depositories includes some online Illinois probate indexes.

National

The Family History Library has microfilmed many Illinois probate records, generally from the date of the county’s creation until the early 1900s. Probate records may include such documents as wills, letters of administration, guardianships, probate journals, probate packets, and adoptions. The probate packets, which contain all documents pertaining to a probate case, have the most genealogical information, but are not always available at the Family History Library. Probate records can be found in the Family History Library Catalog by using a Place Search under:

ILLINOIS- PROBATE RECORDS

ILLINOIS, [COUNTY]- PROBATE RECORDS

ILLINOIS, [COUNTY]- GUARDIANSHIP

Web Sites[edit | edit source]

DeathIndexes.com provides links to several Illinois probate records.
Records in the Illinois Regional Archives Depositories includes some online Illinois probate indexes.

@@ Line 1: / Line 1: @@
 [[Portal:United States Probate|Portal:United States Probate&nbsp;]]&gt;[[Illinois|Illinois]]
-'''Record Synopsis'''<br>Probate encompasses all matters and proceedings pertaining to the administration of estates, whether there is a will (testate) or not (intestate). 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.
+=== '''Record Synopsis'''  ===
-Probate records in Illinois have been recorded by probate courts in larger counties or by county courts in less populated counties. Since the 1960s, probate matters have been in the circuit courts’ jurisdiction. For counties where the probate records are not available on microfilm from the Family History Library, contact the Clerk of the Circuit Court or an [http://www.cyberdriveillinois.com/departments/archives/irad/iradhome.html Illinois Regional Archives Depository] (IRAD).
+Probate encompasses all matters and proceedings pertaining to the administration of estates, whether there is a will (testate) or not (intestate). 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.
-The Family History Library has microfilmed many Illinois probate records, generally from the date of the county’s creation until the early 1900s. Probate records may include such documents as wills, letters of administration, guardianships, probate journals, probate packets, and adoptions. The probate packets, which contain all documents pertaining to a probate case, have the most genealogical information, but are not always available at the Family History Library.
+'''Cautions'''
+*Those named in the will are not necessarily related to the testator.<br> * A wife is not necessarily the mother of the children named.<br> * Probate records can be filed in more than one cabinet, ledger, or packet and in more than one office.
 Probate records may not give an exact death date, but the death most often occurred within a few months of the date of probate. Wills usually mention the names of heirs and frequently specify how those heirs are related. Names of children are given, as well as married names of daughters.
-See [[United States Probate Records|United States Probate Records]] for more information on probate records and their genealogical value.
+=== Jurisdictions  ===
+Clerk of County's Commissioners' Court (1819 - 1821)<br>County Probate Court (1821 - 1848)<br>County Probate Court (for counties with 50,000+ population) (1870 - 1964)<br>County Court (1848 - 1964)<br>Circuit Court (1964 - present)
+=== Obtaining the Records  ===
+==== Repositories  ====
+'''State'''
+[http://www.cyberdriveillinois.com/departments/archives/databases.html The Illinois Regional Archives Depositories] includes some online Illinois probate indexes.
+'''National'''
-Probate records can be found in the Family History Library Catalog by using a&nbsp;Place Search under:
+The Family History Library has microfilmed many Illinois probate records, generally from the date of the county’s creation until the early 1900s. Probate records may include such documents as wills, letters of administration, guardianships, probate journals, probate packets, and adoptions. The probate packets, which contain all documents pertaining to a probate case, have the most genealogical information, but are not always available at the Family History Library. Probate records can be found in the Family History Library Catalog by using a&nbsp;Place Search under:
 ILLINOIS- PROBATE RECORDS
@@ Line 19: / Line 33: @@
 ILLINOIS, [COUNTY]- GUARDIANSHIP
-=== Web Sites  ===
+==== Web Sites  ====
 *[http://www.deathindexes.com/illinois/index.html DeathIndexes.com] provides links to several Illinois probate records.