Summit County (Utah). Probate Court Record books, 1882-1913.

The record books in this series summarize the proceedings of the Summit County Probate Court which primarily dealt with the probate of estates for deceased persons and with guardianship cases. As specified by the Territorial Legislature in 1852, county probate court powers included the authority to probate wills, administer the estates of deceased persons, and establish guardianships for minors, idiots, and the insane. (An Act in Relation to the Judiciary, in 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). The basic procedure for probate cases includes unsealing and admitting a will, if any, and obtaining the testimony of witnesses to prove the will's validity. It also includes such things as appointing administrators; giving notice to creditors; appointing appraisers and filing their report; ordering the sale of property; providing proof of settlement ordistribution of the property; and releasing administrators from further responsibility. These record books contain a variety of orders, petitions, wills, and other documents relating to this process.

During the territorial period Utah county probate courts served a variety of additional functions. Early Utah probate courts held jurisdiction in civil and criminal matters, but by 1878 this had been limited to divorces only. Several divorce cases can be found scattered throughout these books.