March 21, 2025
Probate is the process of the settling of a deceased person’s estate. Probate records can provide important genealogical information. This can include death dates, names of the decedent’s heirs, married names of daughters, and other details about the deceased person’s life.
You will not find a probate file for every ancestor. Those who lived into old age may have distributed their property among their heirs before their death. No probate will be found for them. Probates are more common for men than for women. In earlier times, married women did not own property. Everything belonged to their husband. However, single, widowed or divorced women controlled their own property, so there may be probate records for them.
Probate records are usually kept at the county level in the United States. In earlier times, when an estate was settled, the records were compiled and filed in an envelope or packet. Many courthouses will have file boxes of stored probate packages. In some states, older probate records may have been sent to state archives.
Most probate records are considered public so access to them is straightforward. In the last few years, many probate records have been digitized. Ancestry and Family Search both have large collections of online probates.
Otherwise, state archives and county courthouses are the next step in the search. State archives usually have online indexes detailing the records they hold for various counties in a state. If you find that the records you need are held in an archive, a research visit may be worthwhile. If a visit is not possible, many state archives will search their files for records and make copies. A fee will usually be charged.
Some probates may still be at a local county courthouse. If that is the case, it is usually best to visit the courthouse in person. Older records may be held in offsite storage so a phone call in advance may be worthwhile. Sometimes the courthouse staff may be willing to find the records you need and make a copy. A charge will usually accompany this service.
If you request copies of a probate, be sure to request the entire file. For example, my great uncle’s probate file included a copy of his long-lost sister’s will which had been filed in England. Until I saw her will, I had no idea what had become of my grandfather’s older sister. She had been left in England when the family immigrated to America, and my generation had lost any contact with her. I didn’t even know this great aunt’s married name until I found her will among my great uncle’s probate papers.
Because they can hold so much genealogical information, probate records are always worth searching for. Don’t assume that your ancestors were “too poor” to have left an estate. If an ancestor left any property, you may find a probate package for him (or her).
Carol Stetser
Researcher
Larimer County Genealogical Society