A will is a legal document a person writes to bequeath their property and money after death. Wills can also include directions for burial, disinheritance, and payment of debts.
Wills, like all genealogically relevant records, reflect the time period and location they are written. For example, US wills in the South written by enslavers will include the names of the enslaved that they bequeathed to their family. The enslaved were considered property and would be distributed along with other property in a will.
Genealogical researchers often assume that their ancestors didn't leave a will. While that might be true, it's best to search before assuming. A person who didn't leave a will might be listed in the will of a spouse, other family members, or an acquaintance. Even if an ancestor died intestate, they might have had probate filed after death if they had property to be distributed and bills to be paid.
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Information found in wills and probate records
The benefit of using a will in genealogy research is that it includes information about:
- The name of the deceased
- When the deceased died
- Names and relationships of family members (but it may not include all family members)
- Property owned
- Inventory of items
Wills can substitute or verify vital record information (birth, marriage, and death). They list the deceased's name but may also list a spouse and children. However, remember that a will may not list all the children in a family. A child may have received their inheritance before the parent's death, they predeceased the parent, they or their spouse were financially well-off and didn't need an inheritance, or they were disinherited.
Wills may be more difficult records to find for genealogical research because they may not exist, perhaps because the ancestor did not leave a will, they are only available at the courthouse in the location where the ancestor died, or there was a catastrophic event at the courthouse. Without online court records, you must contact the courthouse where the ancestor died by mail, email, or in person to acquire an index and records.
Keep in mind that women left wills even in times when they had few legal rights. If an ancestor was married, she might have left a will dividing up property she inherited from her father or her deceased husband. Don't assume a female ancestor did not have a will or a probate action after she died.
Glossary and definitions
There is a language one must be aware of when researching wills. Legal terms you may come across include but are not limited to:
- Administrateux: Name of a woman who acts as the legal representation for the deceased.
- Administrator: Legal representative for the deceased.
- Beneficiary: A person or people benefitting from a will by receiving property or money.
- Bequest: Provision in a will that leaves either property or money to someone.
- Chattel: Personal property, not real estate.
- Codicil: Amendment to a will
- Dower rights: Legal rights to an estate when her husband died.
- Escheat: The transfer of property back to the crown or state when a person has no heirs or no heirs can be found.
- Guardian: Someone who is responsible for minor children after a parent dies. Depending on the time period, the mother may not be the guardian if the father dies.
- Heir: Someone who inherits. Typically, spouses and children are listed, but other family, friends, church, or organizations can be listed.
- Issue: Descendants, children, and grandchildren.
- Intestate: Someone who did not write a will prior to death.
- Inventory: A list of property that a deceased person leaves.
- Moveable Property: Personal property that can be moved and is not fixed to the land.
- Probate: The legal process of examining and approving a will.
- Real Property: Fixed property such as a house or buildings
- Testate: Having a valid will at death.
- Testator: Person making a will.
- Testatrix: A woman making a will.
To learn more about legal terms, consult a law dictionary for the country and era you are researching. To learn more about laws that impacted inheritance, wills, and probate, consult law books found online or in a law library.
How to find wills
Wills and probate records are legal papers in courthouses or repositories that archive court records.
Sometimes, wills and probate actions can be found online via the repository where they are kept. An example is the probate and will index on the website Gov.UK. Some courts may also have digitized records.
There is a large collection of digitized wills and probates as well as government records, land and property records, and other court records available on MyHeritage.
Some court records have been indexed and are available in print. Consult the FamilySearch Catalog by searching the place your ancestor lived. A library catalog search might also help. One catalog to search is WorldCat.
In addition to court records, probate notices may be found in the newspaper legal notice sections. This legal notice will alert you to a will or probate action.
See also
Explore more about wills
- Wills and probates on MyHeritage
- Land and property records on MyHeritage
- Government records on MyHeritage
- Court records on MyHeritage
- Wills and How They Can Help Sort Out Family Relationships on MyHeritage Knowledge Base
- Death is not the end – litigation remains: Exploring Australian wills and probate on Legacy Family Tree Webinars
- Inheritance in Scotland – Wills, Testaments, and Land Records on Legacy Family Tree Webinars