Probate records are records disposing of a deceased individual's property and may include an individual's last will and testament if one was made. To find an individual's death date in probate records, you must at least know the individual's full name at time of death, the approximate date of death, and the county or town in which the individual lived at the time of death. If you do not have the minimum information to locate a probate record, you can either:

Get help finding some of the minimum information by selecting one of the following items,

Name

Place of death

click the Back button on your browser to return to the list of other places where you can find death dates, or

read the paragraphs below for a few additional tips.

Finding probate records

Probate record indexes and abstracts have been created in many counties. These indexes can provide you with the information you need to access the record, even if you don't have the minimum information to find the original records. Check with libraries and genealogy societies in the area -- they may know if any indexes exist for the records that you need.

Finding death dates

If the individual was a veteran who served and was killed in the Korean or Vietnam War, you may be able to find a death date through the death records in the Military Index on the FamilySearch computer at your local Family History Center of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. The Family History Library has all other wars indexed on microfiche. You only need to know the war and the veteran's name. Local community and genealogy libraries may also have war indexes. Contact individual libraries for their holdings.

Make sure to check photo albums, scrapbooks, diaries, and family Bibles at home. See the topic Finding information at home for more information. Also check for local histories. See the topic Finding previous research.

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