Iowa Probate Records

United States Probate  > Iowa > Iowa Probate Records

Record Overview

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. 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.

While probate records are one of the most accurate sources of genealogical evidence, they have limitations.

Jurisdictions

Iowa probate records date from about 1834, when the first county in the state was created. A probate court was created in each county when Iowa became an organized territory. These courts were responsible for settling estates. Probate courts were eventually discontinued, and probate matters have since been the responsibility of the district courts. Before 1887 some probate cases were settled in circuit courts and from 1851 to 1868, some in county courts. Probate records may include:

• Administration: Gives authority to the administrator to settle the estate.
• Distributions: The manor in which the deceased's possessions are allocated.
• Dower Rights: Dower rights are the rights that a non owner spouse has in the real property of his or her spouse.
• Estate File: The file containing information about the property left by the deceased, to be dispersed between the surviving heirs.
• Guardianship: Probate Guardianship is when the Court appoints an adult who is not the child’s parent to take care of the child or the child’s property.
• Intestate: When an individual dies without leaving a will.
• Probate Case File: All of the various loose papers that have been created throughout the probate process. These are bound together and archived by case number; they are also called a case or estate files, or probate estate papers.
• Letters of Administration: A document from a probate court allowing the administrator of an intestate estate to settle the estate.
• Letters Testamentary: A document issued by a probate court empowering the executor of the Estate to discharge the appointed responsibilities.
• Settlements: The finalized accounting of how the estate was divided among the heirs, with the heirs acknowledging they have received their fair portion and will make no other claims with the estate.
• Wills: A legal document directing how the deceased wants his or her assets bestowed on others.

You can write to the clerk of the district court for copies of wills, administrations, dockets, calendars, and other records.

Obtaining the Records

National Repositories

The Family History Library has microfilm and microfiche copies of many probate records, including some will records as late as the 1970s and indexes to the 1990s.

• A quick overview of probate records that can be found at the Family History Library can be seen in this list.

Probate records are listed in the Locality Search of the The Family History Library Catalog under:

• IOWA - PROBATE RECORDS
  
• IOWA, [COUNTY] - PROBATE RECORDS

Web Sites

• Sampubco A gateway to Indexes of Will, Guardianships, Probate Records, and Letters Testamentary for some Iowa counties.
• The Iowa GenWeb Project A cooperative volunteer effort with links to resources for the state and counties.

Learn More

• Anne Roach, Courthouse Records Overview (35 minute online video) FamilySearch Research Classes Online, 2010.
• Eichholz, Alice, Editor. Redbook: American State, County, and Town Sources. Third Edition. Provo, Utah: Ancestry, 2004. (See page 216.)
• Rose, Christine. Courthouse Research for Family Historians: Your Guide to Genealogical Treasures. San Jose, California: CR Publications, 2004.

Click on the following links to wiki articles for additional information on probate records:

• United States Probate Records
• Probate Process