Missouri Probate Records

Portal:United States Probate >Missouri

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

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

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