Series 27248
District Court (Eighth District : Duchesne County) Probate case files
Dates: 1915-
15.00 cubic feet and 45 microfilm reels
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.