Probate Records: Difference between revisions

Probate Records (view source)

Revision as of 00:31, 3 January 2022

1,354 bytes added , 3 January 2022

m

no edit summary

VisualWikitext

Hanna5974

318,531

edits

@@ Line 1: / Line 1: @@
+Guide to locating probate records for ancestry, family history, and genealogy research.
+__TOC__
+==What are probate records?==
+*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.
+Relatively few probate records have been microfilmed, so they may need to be used in local and regional German archives. They are often not indexed and require relatively good reading skills.
+==What can you find in probate records?==
+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?==
 ===United States County Wiki Articles===
 Instructions and links for probate records '''in the United States''' are best found on '''individual county pages''' in the Wiki.