Series 23288

District Court (Third District : Summit County) Probate case files, 1871-

32.00 cubic feet

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

Historical Note

See history of the records' creator.

Summary of Records

Probate case files from the Third District Court in Summit County primarily involve the probate of estates for deceased persons and guardianship for minors and incompetent persons. Adoptions, incorporations or dissolutions (turn of the century) and name changes might also appear.

Scope and Content

Probate case files from the Third District Court in Summit 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 theFirst 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 billspaid 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.

Early case files (pre-1900) are arranged by case number, but the numbers were apparently assigned after the fact and are not chronological. The numbering of cases was started over sometime around the turn of the twentieth century.

Access Restrictions

Probate proceedings are public records. However adoption records, which are filed throughout the probate case files, require the permission of the Third District Court until 100 years have passed.

Use Restrictions

These records are available for reproduction and use.

Preferred Citation

Cite the Utah State Archives and Records Service, the creating agency name, the series title, and the series number.

Custody History

Case files were removed from the court office in Coalville and transferred to the Utah State Archives in October, 2007.

Acquisition Information

These records were acquired from the creating agency through established retention schedules.

Processing Information

This series was processed by Jim Kichas in April 2010.

Related Material

Probate case files from the District Court (Third District : Summit County), Series 23288, more fully document court proceedings as they relate to individual cases.
Orders and decrees from the District Court (Fourth District : Summit County), Series 17540, contains the complete case files cited throughout these record books.
Probate register index from the District Court (Third District : Summit County), Series 26616, serves as an index to the probate case files.
Probate registers of action from the District Court (Third District : Summit County), Series 26618, contains a summary of actions for each case in the case files.
Inventory and appraisement record books from the District Court (Fourth District : Summit County), Series 27437, contains the complete case files cited throughout these record books.
Record books from Summit County (Utah). Probate Court, Series 27442, contains the complete case files for matters cited at the end of Record Book D.

Container List

BoxDateDescription
11870-18961-40
21870-189641-69
31870-189670-94
41870-189695-119
51870-1896120-150
61870-1896151-180
71896-19101-20
81896-191021-27
91896-191028-49
101896-191050-90
111896-191091-127
121896-1910128-149
131896-1910150-168
141896-1910169-199
151896-1910200-243
161910-1915244-280
171910-1915281-317
181910-1915318-360
191910-1915361-389
201915-1920390-420
211915-1920421-457
221915-1920458-484
231920-1925485-517
241920-1925518-546
251920-1925547-581
261920-1925582-619
271925-1930620-650
281925-1930651-680
291925-1930681-715
301925-1930716-745
311930-1935746-775
321930-1935776-803
331930-1935804-835
341930-1935836-846
351930-1935847-874
361935-1945875-900
371935-1945901-940
381935-1945941-970
391935-1945971-1010
401935-19451011-1050
411935-19451051-1090
421935-19451091-1128
431935-19451129-1134
441935-19451135-1175
451945-19551176-1210
461945-19551211-1250
471945-19551251-1286
481945-19551287-1331
491945-19551332-1374
501945-19551375-1403
511945-19551403-1440
521945-19551441-1457