Despite their usefulness, probate records are filled with traps for the unwary genealogist. The first pitfall is contemporary law. Probate is a function of state authority, with only one federal prohibition: primogeniture, or passing a landed estate automatically to the eldest son, is forbidden; by 1811, all former colonies had revoked it by statute. Because probate is a state function, probate procedures vary from state to state and have changed over time.
Probate records include a variety of documents created to support court proceedings in the settlement of an individuals’ estates. The number and type of probate records created may vary over time in different jurisdictions and due to the amount of real and personal property involved. The various documents generated in the probate process are rarely filed together.
Categories: Probate Records Tags: accounts, appointment of administrator, bonds, claims, commissioners’ reports, division of property, dower, estate sale(s), guardianship, inventory, judgments, letters of administration, letters testamentary, list of heirs, orders, petitions, Probate, receipts, Vital Records, will
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