What You Can Find Out Through Probate Records

What You Can Find Out Through Probate Records

When a person dies, his or her assets will be processed through probate court, where the court will determine who receives what from the estate.  The assets of an estate are anything of value that was owned by the deceased, including cash, stocks, bonds, land, jewelry, art, cars, antiques, or any other material item. 

The probate records contain lists of all the items in a person's will as well as those things not in the will that are involved in settling an estate after a person has died.  All of these items will be distributed by the probate court.

There are more than just lists of assets in probate court records.  Probate records can also have collections of debts that are owed by the deceased, or any moneys owed by the estate to others.  The probate court records also show the clear titles to property owned by the deceased and can determine which properties have liens or loans against them and how much is owed.  The names of the people owed in property disputes and how much is owed is crucial information when settling the affairs of a person who has just died.

Probate records also enumerate any other disputes that are involved in the settling of the deceased's estate.  If there are any disputes against the estate, or if the will has been contested in any way, the names of the people involved will be listed in the probate records.  The probate records will also tell you who won and lost in whatever disputes over the property arose during the process of settling an estate.

Probate records can be very important in determining if a will was ever thought invalid.  Searching through probate records can tell you if the will was ever contested, by whom and what the outcome of the case determined.  If fraud was involved in the case, the probate records will name the names of the people involved in the fraudulent case, invaluable information to a person thinking of going into business with someone who may have a criminal background of fraud.

In addition to finding out useful information about the property and people involved in a specific case, you can also find out lots of interesting information about your family through probate records.  There are many stories about your family that you can find out about through probate records, stories that you may have not heard at the family reunions.  You may find out about an uncle who was a war hero, who left all his medals to his children, or you may find out you have cousins or relatives that you never knew you had, that perhaps your grandfather left property to in his will.  If you are researching your family tree, searching probate records can provide you with invaluable information, such as perhaps your grandfather owned property in another state that you did not realize.  If you find out about this information, you can research the records in that state for your family history, a direction you would never have explored without the probate information.

Probate records can be fun and informative to explore.  You can often become enlightened by probate records because what a person leaves behind can give a special glimpse into his or her life and you can find out more about a person that you knew in life.