MILLE LACS COUNTY: PROBATE COURT:

This microfilm reproduces volumes containing probate court final decrees of distribution of estates for Mille Lacs County for the years 1875-1982. The records consist of three subseries: final decrees, 1884, 1895-1982 (14 volumes); miscellaneous orders, 1875-1979 (5 volumes); and petitions, 1897-1906 (2 volumes). The records in each subseries are arranged in roughly chronological order. The dates listed are generally those on which the decrees and orders were issued by the probate judges or the petitions were filed with the court, or the dates ofthe court sessions.

Some final decrees and petitions volumes include documents for Ojibwe Indians living on or near the Mille Lacs Indian Reservation.

The volumes in the final decrees subseries may include only final decrees, final decrees and related documents, or largely final decrees but with other orders and decrees issued by the probate court also present. The volumes in the miscellaneous orders subseries comprise a variety of documents that were created as actions were taken by the court, including final decrees. The petition volumes contain petitions to the court regarding various probate matters. Most volumes have been microfilmed in their entirety; in several instances, however, only sections including final decrees in volumes of otherwise nonarchival records have been filmed.

Most of the volumes begin with a personal name index, primarily to names of decedents. Indexes that include citations to pages that were not microfilmed because they contained nonarchival documents or merely the names of decedents with no other filled-in information are identified as such on the microfilm.

Several other kinds of probate documents may also be present among the final decrees in some of the microfilmed volumes. These are transitory administrative documents that usually pertain to transfer of real property or to various steps in the probate process; the individual probate case files contain a more complete compilation of such documents. The official record of real estate ownership and transfer is maintained by the county recorder.

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Availability:

The collection is open for research use.

Preferred Citation:

[Indicate the cited item and/or series here]. Mille Lacs County (Minn.). Probate Court. Final decrees of distribution. Minnesota Historical Society.

See the Chicago Manual of Style for additional examples.

Microfilm production:

Saint Paul, MN : Minnesota Historical Society, 2000

Available for sale of interlibrary loan from the Minnesota Historical Society.

Location of Originals:

The originals (7.7 cubic feet) were disposed of after microfilming.

Accession Information:

Accession numbers: 984-69; 994-117

Processing Information:

Catalog ID number: 001707171

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With indexes. 14 volumes.

Final decrees of distribution record data on a decedent's estate and its distribution to his or her heirs and/or legatees. They generally include the following information: the name of the decedent; the date of the court hearing; the name of the attorney representing the estate; a statement that all required legal and administrative procedures have been carried out (early volumes may give the name and date of the publication containing the notice of the court hearing); the decedent's date of death and residence and whether he/she died testate or intestate (with or without a will); itemizations ofthe major personal property and of the homestead and/or other real property to be distributed; the names of the heirs and/or legatees and their relationship to the decedent; the terms of the distribution of the itemized personal and real property among the heirs/legatees, sometimes including excerpts or quotations from the decedent's will; and the date of the decree.

Some volumes may also include several other types of final decrees, recorded intentionally throughout the volume or in separate sections. Final decrees (summary proceedings) document the distribution ofless complicated estates, in which each heir often is given a designated fractional portion of the decedent's real and/or personal property. The summary proceedings give much the same information as the decrees for more complicated estates; however, they tend to merely list the heirs who are entitled to portions of the estate, rather than itemizing property and its distribution. Decrees of distribution of exempt estates document the immediate distribution of estates, or designated portions thereof, that have been determined to be exempt from the payment of debt. Decrees of partial distribution document the distribution of portions of estates prior to the final distribution of the estates. Orders of distribution of insolvent estates document the distribution of monetary assets to creditors of estates against which claims exceed assets. Decrees of omitted or incorrectly described property and the more general orders of correction, modification, and amendment remedy deficiencies in previously issued final decrees. These other types of final decrees are identified in the roll contents or volume list only when they constitute a distinct unit within a volume, not when they are interspersed throughout.

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With indexes. 5 volumes.

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With indexes. 2 volumes.

The petitions volumes include petitions for approval of wills, settlement of final accounts, license to sell real estate, appointment of administrators, and other estate actions. Although they contain no final decrees, they have been microfilmed as part ofthis record series because many specify the names, ages, and relationships of heirs to the decedent and the components or estimated value of the estate.

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This collection is indexed under the following headings in the catalog of the Minnesota Historical Society. Researchers desiring materials about related topics, persons or places should search the catalog using these headings.

Topics:

Decedents' estates -- Minnesota -- Mille Lacs County

Indian land transfers -- Minnesota -- Mille Lacs County.

Ojibwa Indians -- Land tenure.

Places:

Mille Lacs Indian Reservation (Minn.)

Document Types:

Microforms.

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