SEARCH JONES COURT RECORDS Any word All words Exact phrase

SEARCH JONES COUNTY Any word All words Exact phrase

Probate documents are records created by a court after an individual's death. They relate to the distribution of his or her estate. If the individual left a will (dies testate), the probate process documents the will's validity and sees that it is carried out by the executor. In cases where an individual did not leave a will (dies intestate), probate is used to appoint an administrator to determine the distribution of assets according to formulas set by the laws of the jurisdiction.

Probate files may include any of the following, depending upon the jurisdiction and time period: wills, estate inventories or lists of assets, appointments of executors or administrators, documentation of the distribution of assets, petitions for guardianship of minor children, lists of heirs, lists of creditors or accounts of debts, and other records considered to be important to settling an estate.

Probate records are available at the Jones County Courthouse. If you want additional help, the Jones County Genealogical Society can assist you in getting copies of documents you need. The records have been microfilmed by LDS and are available through Local Family History Centers.

PROBATES, 1844-1873
PROBATES, 1873-1885

When minor heirs exist, guardianship records may be initiated. The court usually appointed a guardian for minors under fourteen years of age, but those older than fourteen were sometimes allowed to choose their own guardian.

If a father died with minor children, a guardianship might be filed even if mother survived. Guardianship records may provide names of the children, married names, ages, dates of birth, residency, and miscellaneous family information

Guardianship records are available at the Jones County Courthouse. If you want additional help, the Jones County Genealogical Society can assist you in getting copies of documents you need. The records have been microfilmed by LDS and are available through Local Family History Centers.

GUARDIANSHIPS, 1844-1873