Probate records, and particularly wills, are considered near the top of the bestseller list for genealogists. The term, probate records, refers to an assortment of documents that complete the process of settling the real and personal estate of a dead person. They can involve various documents including: wills, inventories, notices to creditors, appointments of guardians, or an administration of an estate.
While a few original wills may be found among private papers, the most reliable place to search for a will is among the records of the court where probate was granted, specifically, where the will was given official approval, empowering the executor to act. In cases where no will was made, letters of administration were granted to the next-of-kin, giving him or her the authority to distribute the estate, according to the Public Record Office.
The court in question may go by various names, including: Surrogate Court, Orphans Court, Court of Probate, Ordinary Court, or Prefect Court. In England, estates may have been settled in one of the provincial courts, the Prerogative Court of Canterbury (PCC) or the Prerogative Court of York.
The Board for Certification of Genealogists provides some useful tips in Analyzing Wills for Useful Clues.
You can find some great examples of wills on-line. Wills of both historical and famous contemporary figures including:
The following will was culled from Frank Buckley's Genealogy Home-Page and is a humorous, yet somehow appropriate, way to finish the discussion.
Last Will & Testament of Flat Broke
I, Flat Broke of the State of Poverty, being of unsound financial status do hereby make, publish & declare this to be my last Will & Testament to wit:
Item 1. I leave to my children namely viz: my sons, Gone Broke, Flat Broke Jr., Been Broke & Almost Broke, all my debts, both public and private to be shared equally.
Item 2. I leave to my daughters; Patience Broke, Never Broke & Going Broke the knowledge that I was always Broke and they will always be Broke.
Item 3. I leave to my beloved wife, Broken Hearted Broke, not one thing as I am Flat Broke.
Signed, Sealed, Published & Declared this 28 Day of January A. D. One Thousand nine-hundred and ninety-seven.
Flat Broke seal.
Witness our hands and seals:
Nearly Broke
Positively Broke
