Birth certificates … In most states, business filings are handled by the office of the secretary of state, although in some states this is delegated to … Some people use nicknames. Commonwealth of Massachusetts. The Colorado State Archives holds a wide variety of public records. Do You Need a Revocable Living Trust or Only a Will? New York State Unified Court System. Please go to Ordering Materials - County Records - Probate for instructions on ordering a search for a probate record. Here, you can find a wide range of public court records going back many years via the PACER system. http://publicrecords.searchsystems.net/ Judicial Council of California. 1859 to 1930 – Published Indexes The Archives has printed indexes (in the Reading Room) for estate files for the following counties up to 1900 only, the estate files are on … For example, “Jen” is probably short for “Jennifer” and “John” is often short for “Johnathon”—but not always. This can happen if all of the deceased person's property consists of non-probate assets, such as joint deeds and accounts, TOD and POD accounts, life insurance and retirement accounts such as IRAs and 401(k)s. In cases like these, the deceased person's property would pass directly to the other joint owners.  In other words: the deceased person's property will effectively bypass the terms of their will. "Last Will and Testament." And with public records so easily accessible, it's important to know exactly what can be found out there, and where to find it. The Death Index provides information for those who died after 1936 and who had a Social Security number. We use cookies to make wikiHow great. Include your email address to get a message when this question is answered. {"smallUrl":"https:\/\/www.wikihow.com\/images\/thumb\/d\/dc\/Find-a-Will-Record-Step-1.jpg\/v4-460px-Find-a-Will-Record-Step-1.jpg","bigUrl":"\/images\/thumb\/d\/dc\/Find-a-Will-Record-Step-1.jpg\/aid9065241-v4-728px-Find-a-Will-Record-Step-1.jpg","smallWidth":460,"smallHeight":345,"bigWidth":"728","bigHeight":"546","licensing":"

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\n<\/p><\/div>"}, http://formfinder.hmctsformfinder.justice.gov.uk/pa1s-eng.pdf, http://info.legalzoom.com/last-records-4628.html, http://dohistory.org/on_your_own/toolkit/probateRecords.html, https://probatesearch.service.gov.uk/#wills, http://www.courts.qld.gov.au/services/wills-and-probate/searches-for-wills-and-probate, http://www.lawhandbook.sa.gov.au/ch36s01s07.php, http://www.supremecourt.wa.gov.au/P/probate_fees.aspx?uid=2204-6428-3676-6753, https://www.attorneygeneral.jus.gov.on.ca/english/estates/estates-FAQ.php#s1, https://albertacourts.ca/court-of-queens-bench/frequently-asked-questions, consider supporting our work with a contribution to wikiHow. 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