Alaska Probate Records: Difference between revisions

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 records may be found in probate files. 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|United States Probate Records]]. see also [http://archives.alaska.gov/pdfs/collection_guides/guide_to_probate_index.pdf Guide to the Probate Records of Alaska 1888-1972.]

Index represents about 17,000 probate cases from the district court system from 1884 until the Alaska State Court system was established in 1960. Index is arranged alphabetically and includes last and first name, case number if available, precinct, type of case, date, whether docket or a case file, and the location of either or both if available. [http://archives.alaska.gov/genealogy/genealogy.html Alaska Probate Records Index]