Series 27248
District Court (Eighth District : Duchesne County) Probate case files

Dates: 1915-

15.00 cubic feet and 45 microfilm reelsSkip to Containers

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

Scope and Content

Probate case files from the Eighth District Court in Duchesne 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 (4th). Duchesne County, Series 17831, more fully document court proceedings as they relate to individual cases.

Probate registers of actions from the District Court (Eighth District : Duchesne County), Series 27413, contains the entire case file listed in these registers.

Probate minute books from the District Court (4th). Duchesne County, Series 27422, contains the complete case files created by the court.

Custody History

Case files 1 to 846 (1915-1955) were transferred to the State Archives by the court in June 2009.

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 Eighth 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

In April 2010 case files 717 and 718 were found in the court and mailed to the State Archives. The case files have been added to the physical holdings but have not been microfilmed.

Processing Note

This series was archivally processed by Jim Kichas in August 2009.

Indexing Terms

Container List

REEL BOX DATE DESCRIPTION
1 1 1915-1918 1-15
2 1 1915-1918 16-31
3 1 1915-1918 32-46
4 1 1915-1918 47-52
4 2 1918-1920 53-63
5 2 1918-1920 64-79
6 2 1918-1920 80-93
7 2 1918-1920 94-105
8 3 1921-1924 106-127
9 3 1921-1924 128-135
10 3 1921-1924 135-144
11 3 1921-1924 145-160
11 4 1924 161-164
12 4 1924-1928 165-191
13 4 1924-1928 192-210
14 4 1924-1928 211-230
15 4 1928 231-235
15 5 1929-1934 236-246
16 5 1929-1934 247-265
17 5 1929-1934 266-288
18 5 1929-1934 289-314
19 5 1934 315
19 6 1934-1938 316-335
20 6 1934-1938 336-356
21 6 1934-1938 357-372
22 6 1934-1938 373-380
22 7 1938 381-383
23 7 1938-1943 384-396
24 7 1938-1943 397-422
25 7 1938-1943 423-442
26 7 1938-1943 443-460
26 8 1943 461-469
27 8 1943-1946 470-490
28 8 1943-1946 491-515
29 8 1946 516-530
29 9 1946 531-537
30 9 1946-1948 538-555
31 9 1946-1948 556-564(1)
32 9 1946-1948 564(2)-587
33 9 1948 588-589
33 10 1948-1950 590-601
34 10 1948-1950 602-632
35 10 1948-1950 633-655
35 11 1950 656-657
36 11 1950-1952 658-681
37 11 1950-1952 682-696
38 11 1950-1952 697-716
N/A 14 1952-2007 717-718
N/A 15 1952-2007 718
38 11 1952 719-723
39 11 1952 724-725
39 12 1952-1953 726-733
40 12 1952-1953 734-741
41 12 1952-1953 742-755
42 12 1952-1953 756-779
43 13 1953-1955 780-797
44 13 1953-1955 798-826
45 13 1953-1955 827-846

Page Last Updated October 18, 2012.