Series 26645

District Court (Fifth District : Iron County) Probate case files

Dates: 1895-

31.00 cubic feet and 64 microfilm reels

These records are housed in the Utah State Archives' permanent storage room.

Scope and Content

Probate case files from the Fifth District Court in Iron County primarily involve the probate of estates for deceased persons and guardianship for minors and incompetent persons. Probate is judicial oversight of property in transition. Probate of estates is the process by which a deceased person's property is identified and maintained, his debts and taxes paid, and then remaining property distributed to beneficiaries as specified in a will or as required by law for persons who die intestate (without a will). In guardianship cases probate is the establishment of a guardian for minors or incompetent adults who hold property that needs management. In addition to probate these case files also include name changes and some adoptions.

Utah's Territorial Assembly established original jurisdiction over the probate of estates and the guardianship of incompetent persons with county probate courts in 1852 (An Act in Relation to the Judiciary. Acts, Resolutions, and Memorials passed by the First Annual, and Special Sessions of the Legislative Assembly. Great Salt Lake City, 1852, Brigham H. Young, Printer. pp. 38-48). That jurisdiction transferred to the probate divisions of District Courts when County Probate Courts were abolished at statehood.

The probate process includes three parts. First, a petitioner must file with the court the documents necessary to have the court appoint a representative. Documents relating to this process include wills, petitions, letters of administration, bonds, etc., and a court order appointing an administrator, executor, or guardian. Second, the appointed representative does all that is necessary to manage the property through the period of transition. Documents filed here might include a court order appointing appraisers, notices to creditors, estate inventories, various kinds of financial statements, receipts, bills, and the court-appointed representative's final report. Finally, when all requirements have been met, such as all bills paid or a minor has become of age, the court mandates a final settlement and releases the representative from any further responsibility.

The Territorial Legislature made provision for formal adoptions in 1884 and assigned jurisdiction to County Probate Courts (Compiled Laws of Utah, vol. II, 1888, part 5, chapter 4). Adoption case files include a formal petition, documents supporting the petition and the court's final decree. In this series adoption case files begin in 1893. Whereas early adoptions were open to the public and sometimes published in the newspaper, adoptions later became private. Most adoption records in this series are closed to public access (see access restrictions note). In addition to probate and adoption, case files this series also include official name changes.

Arrangement

For records created from 1875 to 1901, arrangement is alphabetical by surname..

Research Note

It appears that the court began renumbering probate case files on two seperate occassions. Researchers will see two seperate ranges numbering from 1 to 100 that were created between 1895 and 1908. After 1908 the case files remain consistenly numered to the end of the series.

Related Records

Probate record books from the District Court (Fifth District : Iron County), Series 1124, more fully document court proceedings as they relate to individual cases.

Probate registers of actions from the District Court (Fifth District : Iron County), Series 18218, record the date any action was taken on a case and briefly state what that action was.

Probate index from the District Court (Fifth District : Iron County), Series 26659, contains an index book which can be used to identify the case numbers needed to access these case files.

Custody History

All case files created between 1895 and 1956 were transferred to the Utah State Archives in 2007. For access to case files post-1955 researchers should contact the clerk of the Fifth District Court in Iron County.

Additional Forms

This series is available on microfilm.

Access Restrictions

Probate proceedings are public records. However adoption records, which are filed throughout the probate case files, require the permission of the Fifth District Court until 100 years have passed.

Preferred Citation

Cite the Utah State Archives and Records Service, the creating agency name, the series title, and the series number.

Gaps in Series

Cases 2, 9, 25, 33, 37, 174, 184, 190, 198, 307, 319, 376, 575, 580, 596, 614, 763, 810, and 1457 are missing.

Processing Note

This series was archivally processed by Jim Kichas and Emily Gurr in May 2008 as part of a NHPRC grant project designed to preserve the historic records of Utah's Fifth District Courts.

Indexing Terms

Container List

REEL	BOX	DATE	DESCRIPTION
1	1	1895-1908	1-15
2	1	1895-1908	16-47
3	1	1895-1908	48-50
3	2	1895-1908	51-68
4	2	1895-1908	69-90
5	2	1895-1908	91-100
5	3	1895-1908	1-13
6	3	1895-1908	14-33
7	3	1895-1908	34-49
7	4	1895-1908	50-52
8	4	1895-1908	53-76
9	4	1895-1908	77-100
10	5	1908-1912	1-12
11	5	1908-1912	13-40
12	5	1912-1914	41
12	6	1912-1914	42-61
13	6	1914-1916	62-80
13	7	1914-1916	81-82
14	7	1916-1917	83-98
15	7	1918-1919	99-116
16	7	1918-1920	117-118
16	8	1918-1920	119-142
17	8	1920	143-163
18	9	1920-1922	164-187
19	9	1922-1927	188-208
20	9	1927-1930	209-223
20	10	1927-1930	224-240
21	10	1927-1930	241-261
22	10	1923-1930	262-276
22	11	1923-1930	277-290
23	11	1927-1930	291-320
24	11	1927-1930	321-329
24	12	1927-1930	330-355
25	12	1930-1932	356-382
26	12	1930-1932	383
26	13	1930-1932	384-412
27	13	1931-1933	413-434
28	13	1933-1934	435
28	14	1933-1934	436-465
29	14	1934-1935	466-483
30	14	1935	484-500
30	15	1935	501-502
31	15	1935-1936	503-520
32	15	1936	521-534
33	15	1936-1937	535-541
33	16	1936-1937	542-550
34	16	1937	551-576
35	16	1938-1940	576(a)-591
35	17	1938-1940	592-599
36	17	1938-1940	600-615
N/A	17	1939-1940	616-659
37	17	1939-1940	660-676
38	17	1940	677-690
38	18	1940-1941	691-698
39	18	1940-1941	699-726
40	18	1941	727-735
41	18	1941-1942	736-737
41	19	1941-1942	738-760
42	19	1942	761-772
42	20	1942	773-776
43	20	1942-1943	777-788
44	20	1943-1944	788(a)-813
45	20	1943-1944	814-825
45	21	1943-1944	826-842
46	21	1944	843-877
47	21	1944-1945	878-895
47	22	1944-1945	896-909
48	22	1945	910-918
49	22	1946	919-931
49	23	1946	932-967
50	23	1946-1947	968-1011
51	24	1947-1948	1012-1051
52	24	1947-1948	1052-1078
52	25	1947-1948	1079-1094
53	25	1948-1949	1095-1137
54	25	1948-1949	1138-1153
54	26	1948-1949	1154-1176
55	26	1950	1176(a)-1215
56	27	1950-1951	1216-1244
57	27	1951-1952	1245-1281
57	28	1951-1952	1282-1287
58	28	1952-1953	1288-1334
59	28	1952-1953	1335-1337
59	29	1952-1953	1338-1374
60	29	1952-1953	1375-1399
61	29	1953	1400
61	30	1953-1955	1401-1434
62	30	1953-1955	1435-1438
63	30	1953-1955	1439-1455
63	31	1953-1955	1456-1488
64	31	1953-1955	1489-1511