Series 1621

DISTRICT COURT (THIRD DISTRICT : SALT LAKE COUNTY) [1688]

PROBATE CASE FILES, 1852-ongoing
2993 microfilm reels; 99 cu. ft.

A separate agency history is available.

DESCRIPTION: Case files for Third District Court (Salt Lake County) probate division 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 the First 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. This series includes cases handled by the Salt Lake County Probate Court during the Utah's territorial period, as well as those handled more recently by Third District Court (Salt Lake County). These case files include many prominent persons such as Brigham Young (case 553).

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 bills paid 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 and a few cases involving conveyance of title filed near the turn of the century.

ARRANGEMENT: Third District Court (Salt Lake County) probate case files are arranged by consecutive court-assigned case number.

RESEARCH NOTES: For purposes of safe keeping Third District Court generally has filed wills separately from probate case files. For current researchers this means that wills associated with probate case files can be found in Series 3578, WILLS. This guideline is excepted by the first 922 cases, for which Utah State Archives staff refiled wills with case files before microfilming. Many probate cases do not have associated wills because persons died intestate or without a will. Wills in series 3578 are identified by the same number as the corresponding probate case file.

Because of the volume of probate records in this series cases and parts of cases have been separated from the whole at various times. Utah State Archives staff began microfilming these case files in 1978, and then subsequently microfilmed pieces that were acquired or discovered later. This means that cases are sometimes out of sequence. If a case or a part thereof appears to be missing, check the container list and look through the entire microfilm reel.

During Utah's territorial period Third District Court probate case files include many exhibits as part of case files. After the early 1900s exhibits were destroyed and not retained as part of case files.

RELATED RECORDS: Third District Court created an index for cases filed 1875-1969, series 17611, PROBATE RECORDS INDEX. The court filed associated wills separately in WILLS, series 3578. PROBATE MINUTES, series 3938, summarize the daily proceeding of the probate division of Third District Court. ESTATE REGISTERS, series 3927, are registers of action for each case. Registers record the date any action was taken on a case and briefly state what that action was. PROBATE RECORD BOOKS, series 3372, more fully document court proceedings as they relate to individual cases. From 1884-1917 Third District Court kept separate ADOPTION RECORD BOOKS, series 3932.

FINDING AIDS: Utah State Archives staff created an online index for cases filed 1852-1896. Third District Court created an index for cases filed 1875-1969, Series 17611, PROBATE RECORDS INDEX. Because this index also includes reference to adoptions, which are private records, a reference archivist will provide access to this index.

ACCESS RESTRICTIONS: Utah law, enacted in 1941, sealed all adoption records with the exception that they can be released upon a court order expressly permitting inspection (Laws of Utah, 1941, chapter 17, 14-1-15). This restriction has subsequently been amended (1999) to allow public access one hundred years after the date of final decree or access as provided for in a mutual consent registry (Utah Code 78-30-15, 18). The probate division's jurisdiction over adoptions preceded the enactment of these laws and therefore many adoption records were filed and microfilmed among probate cases. Utah State Archives staff supervises access to this series in order to provide access to probate records, but not to adoption records.

CUSTODY HISTORY: Third District Court has transferred case files filed from 1952-1969 to Utah State Archives, with the most recent transfer in 2001. All cases filed after 31 December 1969 remain in the custody of Third District Court (Salt Lake County).

PROCESSING NOTE: Utah State Archives began microfilming Third District Court probate case files in March 1978. The Archives refilmed the first 922 cases and microfilmed many subsequently acquired or discovered cases or parts thereof in 2001-2004. Utah State Archives has microfilmed and retained the paper copy of cases filed 1852-1896, however hard copies of cases filed 1897-1969 have been destroyed after filming. Michelle Call and Rosemary Cundiff processed this series in 2001-2004.

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

GAPS: Gaps and missing case files have been noted on the container list but are too numerous to mention here. Gaps could either be due to missing case files or unassigned numbers. Cases 923-951 are missing in hard copy but are included on microfilm. Cases 54770 to 54808 are missing.

CONTAINER LIST

See PDF file for full container list.