Series 3636

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

Dates: 1896-

28.00 cubic feet and 52 microfilm reels

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

Historical Note

An agency history is available.

Scope and Content

Probate case files from the Fifth District Court in Washington 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.

Research Note

It appears that many of the earliest case files in the series contain records that originated in either the Territorial Second District Court or the Washington County Probate Court. Several of the earliest case files from this series originate prior to 1896 and presumably made their way into this series when final action was eventually taken by the Fifth District Court.

Research Note

In October 2009 case file 873 was found in the court and was mailed to the State Archives. The case file has been added to the physical holdings but has not been microfilmed.

Related Records

Probate record books from the District Court (Fifth District : Washington County), Series 18215, more fully document court proceedings as they relate to individual cases.

Probate registers of action from the District Court (Fifth District : Washington County), Series 18217, record the date any action was taken on a case and briefly state what that action was.

Estate administration index from the District Court (Fifth District : Washington County), Series 23780, can be used to locate estate cases found in this series.

Custody History

All case files created between 1896 and 1955 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 Washington County.

Additional Forms

This series is available on microfilm.

Access Restrictions

This series is primarily classified as Public. The secondary classification is Exempt: Judicial records are public unless restricted under rules of civil procedure (UCA 63G-2-301-[1][f]). Included are custody proceedings, guardianship files, minutes, & probate records. Wills are generally considered private data until probate.

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 5, 15, 16, 22, 23, 29, 60, 61, 72, 80, 142, 145, 148, 193, 202, 211, 223, 311, 314, 315, 343, 352, 470, 490, 501, 513, 523, 526, 534, 548, 555, 580, 606, 632, 879, 890, and 1061 are missing.

Processing Note

This series was archivally processed by Jim Kichas and Emily Gurr in December 2007 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	1896-1907	Adams-Batty
2	1	1896-1907	Beachman-Clark
2	2	1896-1907	Collins-Cooper
3	2	1896-1907	Cooper-Graf
4	2	1896-1907	Graf-Hunt
4	3	1896-1907	Huston-Ide
5	3	1896-1907	Isom-Lang
6	3	1896-1907	Larson-McIntire
6	4	1896-1907	McMullin-Mecham
7	4	1896-1907	Miller-Parker
8	4	1896-1907	Parkinson-Pulsipher
9	5	1896-1907	Pulsipher-Ross
10	5	1896-1907	Sager-Seegmiller
10	6	1896-1907	Slade-Snow
11	6	1896-1907	Snow-Sullivan
12	6	1896-1907	Sullivan-Thomas
12	7	1896-1907	Watson-Wooley
13	7	1896-1907	Wooley-Young
13	8	1896-1907	1-12
14	8	1907-1908	13-30
15	8	1908-1909	31-36
15	9	1908-1909	37-50
16	9	1909-1912	51-82
16	10	1909-1912	83-85
17	10	1913-1914	86-105
18	10	1914-1916	106-112
18	11	1914-1916	113-125
19	11	1916-1918	126-152
20	11	1921	153-160
20	12	1921	161-192
21	12	1921-1922	193-208
22	12	1922-1924	209-221
22	13	1922-1924	222-243
23	13	1924-1926	244-268
24	13	1926-1928	269-283
24	14	1926-1928	284-297
25	14	1928-1929	298-323
26	14	1930-1931	324-330
26	15	1930-1931	331
27	15	1931-1933	332-368
28	15	1933-1935	369-400
28	16	1933-1935	401-406
29	16	1935-1936	407-430
30	16	1936-1937	431-446
30	17	1936-1937	447-456
31	17	1937	457-485
32	17	1937-1939	486-498
32	18	1937-1939	499-514
33	18	1939-1940	515-541
34	18	1940-1941	542-547
34	19	1940-1941	548-581
35	19	1941-1942	582-605
35	20	1941-1942	606-609
36	20	1942-1943	610-644
37	20	1943-1945	645-667
37	21	1943-1945	668-671
38	21	1945-1946	672-705
39	21	1946-1947	706-724
39	22	1946-1947	725-737
40	22	1947-1948	738-778
41	22	1948-1949	779-789
41	23	1948-1949	790-826
42	23	1949	827-845
42	24	1949	846-847
43	24	1949-1950	848-874
44	24	1950	875-892
44	25	1950	893-899
45	25	1950-1951	900-928
46	25	1951-1952	929-938
46	26	1951-1952	939-955
47	26	1952-1953	956-977
48	26	1953-1954	978-992
48	27	1953-1954	993-1016
49	27	1955	1017-1046
50	27	1955	1047-1054
50	28	1955	1055-1079
51	28	1955	1080-1092
52	28	1955	1092