When the Utah Territorial Legislature established the jurisdiction and authority of county probate courts in 1851, it established the jurisdiction of these courts over probate. The Legislature granted county probate courts authority “to probate wills, administer the estates of deceased persons, and to establish guardianships of minors, idiots, and the insane" (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, 1851, p. 38-48).

During a portion of Utah’s territorial period, county probate courts additionally held jurisdiction over criminal and civil matters. This is significant to probate researchers because early probate records may be mixed with other kinds of cases.

When Utah became a state (1896) the county probate courts were abolished. Probate became the jurisdiction of the district court in each county.

Probate of estates

Probate of estates is the process by which a deceased person’s property is identified and managed, his debts and taxes paid, and then remaining property distributed to beneficiaries as specified in a will, or to heirs as required by law. Typically a probate case begins when the court receives a petition to open the probate of an estate or admit a will. The court responds by holding a hearing to establish the validity of the will and appoint an administrator. Thereafter the administrator notifies creditors of the estate to submit any outstanding bills, and the court obtains a full inventory of the estate. When all property in the estate has been properly accounted for and all outstanding debts paid, the court orders distribution of remaining property among the heirs and releases the administrator from responsibility for the estate.

Although the probate process has remained essentially the same throughout Utah’s history, the 1917 State Legislature formalized the process in an extensive probate code (Compiled Laws of Utah, 1917, Vol. 2, Chapter 118, pp. 1493-1545). In 1975, the State Legislature adopted the Utah Uniform Probate Code, which replaced the prior probate code and which, as amended, is the probate code in force today.

Guardianships

Guardianships are also administered by probate divisions of district courts and previously by county probate courts. A court can establish guardianships when a minor or an incompetent adult holds property requiring oversight and management. They are usually initiated under the terms of a will or upon the petition of a family member. A guardian is generally required to post bond, and is accountable to the court for the management of property entrusted to him.

Probate records generated by Utah District Courts typically also include records of adoptions and may include other miscellaneous cases such as incorporation dissolutions and name changes.