District Court (Fifth District : Beaver County) Probate registers of action, 1896-1998.

Probate registers of action list each action taken in the cases presented to the probate division of Fifth District Court: Beaver County. In addition to handling the estates of deceased persons, the probate division also dealt with adoptions, guardianships, and insanity and incompetency cases. The court was responsible for adjudicating and conveying ownership of town site lands (Utah Code, 57-7-19,1953). Occasionally, the court handled name changes and inquests regarding the cause of a death. In each case the probate register indicates the name or names of the individuals involved, the kind of case, and the name of the petitioner's attorney, followed by a list of each action taken in the case and the date that action was taken.

Some examples of the kinds of actions recorded for estates might be petitions for admitting a will or appointing an administrator; orders fixing time of hearings, for appointing administrators, for publication of notice to creditors, for the sale of real orpersonal property or for assignment of the estate to a widow. The court closed estate cases with a final decree of settlement or distribution.

Guardianship cases might include a petition for an order appointing a guardian, then include an order appointing a guardian and finally a decree of discharge. Adoption cases might include a petition for adoption, consent and agreement of adoptive parents, findings of fact and conclusions at law, and finally an order of adoption. Insanity cases might include an application for order of hospitalization at Utah State Hospital, an affidavit or physician's certificate, a warrant of commitment, and finally a notice of the patient's release. Town site cases begin with a petition for a deed and end with an order authorizing a deed.