AGENCY: District Court (Third District : Salt Lake County)
SERIES: 3578
TITLE: Wills
DATES: 1869-
ARRANGEMENT: Numerical by case number.
DESCRIPTION: Legislators at the second Utah Territorial Legislative Assembly organized probate courts in each of Utah's counties and endowed these courts with the right to exercise jurisdiction in the probate of wills and the administration of estates of deceased persons (Laws of Utah, Chapter 42, 1852). The assembly clarified the manner in which estates should be settled. By law any person of full age and of sound mind could dispose of all of his property by will, with the exception that sufficient first be withheld to pay any outstanding debts. The signatures of two competent witnesses in addition to the testator validated a completed will. The law stated that if the court allowed and attested the will, it should be carried into effect (Compiled Laws of Utah, 1876, Title 14, chapter 1, sections 1-6). Each will follows a similar format. It states that the testator meets the requirement of being of sound mind and legal age. It names who the testator desires to be the executor of his estate. It enumerates the testator's property and designates whom he wishes to inherit each item.
RETENTION
Permanent. Retain for 50 year(s)
DISPOSITION
Transfer to Archives.
RETENTION AND DISPOSITION AUTHORIZATION
Retention and disposition for this series is proposed and has not yet been approved.
FORMAT MANAGEMENT
Paper: For records prior to and including 1900. Retain in State Archives permanently with authority to weed.
Paper: For records beginning in 1900 and continuing to the present. Retain in Office for 9 years after probated and then transfer to State Records Center. Retain in State Records Center for 41 years and then transfer to State Archives with authority to weed.
Microfilm master: Retain in State Archives permanently with authority to weed.
Microfilm duplicate: For records prior to and including 1969. Retain in State Archives permanently with authority to weed.
Microfilm duplicate: For records beginning in 1970 and continuing to the present. Retain in Office permanently.
APPRAISAL
Historical Legal
Wills primarily contain personal and family information as well as information about the property of deceased persons. They are of primary value to family historians.
PRIMARY DESIGNATION
Public