Series 3590

District Court (Fourth District : Wasatch County) Probate case files

Dates: 1883-

44.00 cubic feet

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

Scope and Content

Probate case files from the Fourth District Court in Wasatch 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

Numerical by case number.

Related Records

Probate record books from the District Court (Fourth District : Wasatch County), Series 1378, more fully document court proceedings as they relate to individual cases.

Probate register from the District Court (Fourth District : Wasatch County), Series 9869, record the date any action was taken on a case and briefly state what that action was.

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 1 to 8, 221 to 228, 878, and 1511 to 1608 are missing.

Processing Note

This series was arranged and prepared for microfilming by Haynes & Sylvia Gearheart between May and July 2011. Final processing was completed by Jim Kichas in July 2011.

Indexing Terms

Container List

REEL	BOX	DATE	DESCRIPTION
pending	1	1883-1895	1-43
pending	2	1883-1895	44-62
pending	3	1896-1901	9-51
pending	4	1901-1902	49-57
pending	5	1903	58-67
pending	6	1903-1907	68-113
pending	7	1909	114-140
pending	8	1908-1910	141-170
pending	9	1910-1912	171-182
pending	10	1911-1912	183-201
pending	11	1913-1917	202-220
pending	12	1913-1916	229-260
pending	13	1916-1917	261-287
pending	14	1919-1920	288-316
pending	15	1919-1920	317-351
pending	16	1920-1923	352-386
pending	17	1923-1925	387-432
pending	18	1925-1929	433-490
pending	19	1929-1933	491-535
pending	20	1933-1938	536-585
pending	21	1936-1937	586-629
pending	22	1938-1939	630-671
pending	23	1939-1942	672-731
pending	24	1942-1945	732-782
pending	25	1945-1946	783-789
pending	26	1945-1947	790-829
pending	27	1947-1949	830-877
pending	28	1949-1952	879-937
pending	29	1952-1957	938-970
pending	30	1954-1958	971-1010
pending	31	1958	1011-1031
pending	32	1958-1959	1032-1070
pending	33	1959-1961	1071-1124
pending	34	1959-1962	1125-1160
pending	35	1962-1963	1161-1192
pending	36	1965	1193-1230
pending	37	1965-1967	1231-1275
pending	38	1967-1969	1276-1333
pending	39	1969-1971	1334-1380
pending	40	1971-1974	1381-1429
pending	41	1973-1975	1430-1474
pending	42	1975-1977	1475-1510
pending	43	1981-1982	1609-1633
pending	44	1983-1985	1634-1677