Missouri Probate Records: Difference between revisions

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''[[United States|United States ]] [[Image:Gotoarrow.png]]  [[United States Probate Records|Probate Records]] [[Image:Gotoarrow.png]]  [[Missouri_Probate_Records|Missouri Probate]]''
''[[United States|United States ]] [[Image:Gotoarrow.png]]  [[Missouri|Missouri ]] [[Image:Gotoarrow.png]]  [[Missouri_Probate_Records|Probate Records]]''  


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Probate records are court records created after an individual’s death that relate to a court’s decisions regarding the distribution of the estate to the heirs or creditors and the care of any dependents. These documents are important to family history researchers because they usually exist for time periods before civil birth and death records were kept. While probate records are one of the most accurate sources of genealogical evidence, they have [[United States Probate Limitations|limitations]].  
== Record Synopsis  ==
 
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, "probate."</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&nbsp;the probate process,&nbsp;types of probate records,&nbsp;analyzing probate records, and to access a glossary of probate terms, see [https://wiki.familysearch.org/en/United_States_Probate_Records United States Probate Records].  
 
== History  ==
 
== State Statutes  ==
 
== Repositories  ==
 
==== Local  ====
==== Regional  ====
==== National  ====
 
== State Statutes  ==
 
== Repositories  ==
 
==== Local  ====
==== Regional  ====
==== National  ====
 
 


=== Jurisdictions  ===
=== Jurisdictions  ===

Revision as of 15:24, 11 November 2010

United States  Gotoarrow.png  Missouri  Gotoarrow.png  Probate Records


Record Synopsis[edit | edit source]

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.”[1] 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 the probate process, types of probate records, analyzing probate records, and to access a glossary of probate terms, see United States Probate Records.

History[edit | edit source]

State Statutes[edit | edit source]

Repositories[edit | edit source]

Local[edit | edit source]

Regional[edit | edit source]

National[edit | edit source]

State Statutes[edit | edit source]

Repositories[edit | edit source]

Local[edit | edit source]

Regional[edit | edit source]

National[edit | edit source]

Jurisdictions[edit | edit source]

Probate matters in Missouri have usually been recorded by the clerks of the probate courts, but in some counties the common pleas or circuit courts handled this function. The records include wills, administrator bonds, and estate inventories. They are frequently indexed. You can obtain copies by contacting the probate judge in each county.

A statewide index to Missouri probate records has not been compiled.

Copies of many of the records are available at the Family History Library. The library's records generally date from the creation of the county to about 1925. For example, the library has 71 films for Jackson County that include:

  • Wills and other records (1828-1917)
  • Bonds (1868-1923)
  • Letters (1876-1955)
  • Guardians' records (1871-1898)
  • Inventories (1881-1915)
  • Real estate sales (1890-1918)

For many counties, abstracts of the earliest wills have been published, and copies are available at major archives and the Family History Library.

Web Sites[edit | edit source]

http://thelibrary.springfield.missouri.org/lochist/records/protoc.htm

St. Louis, Missouri Judicial Records:  http://www.sos.mo.gov/archives/mojudicial/#searchDB

St. Louis, Missouri Genealogy Resources http://www.germanroots.com/stlouis.html

References[edit | edit source]

 

  1. Henry Campbell Black, Black's Law Dictionary, 5th ed. (St. Paul, Minnesota: West Publishing Co., 1979), 1081, "probate."