An Inventory of Its Final Decrees of Distribution at the Minnesota Historical Society
This microfilm reproduces volumes containing probate court final decrees of distribution
of estates for Nicollet County for the years 1856-1976. The records consist of two subseries:
final decrees, 1880-1976 (19 volumes); and miscellaneous orders and minutes, 1856-1976
(11 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 dates of the court sessions.
The volumes in the final decrees subseries include mostly final decrees, although some
other orders and decrees issued by the probate court may be present. The initial volumes in the
miscellaneous orders and minutes subseries contain minutes of various kinds of probate court
proceedings; the minute books gradually evolved into miscellaneous order books comprising a
variety of documents created as actions were taken by the court, including final decrees. Some
final decrees volumes are divided into two or three sections, identified for filming purposes as
"Section A", "Section B", and Section C" in the volumes and in the roll contents list (roll 1) or
volume list (subsequent rolls) that follows this description on the microfilm. In many instances
in the final decrees subseries, entire volumes have been microfilmed; in some instances,
however, only sections containing final decrees in volumes of otherwise nonarchival records
have been filmed. All of the volumes except one in the miscellaneous orders and minutes
subseries have been filmed in their entirety.
All of the final decrees volumes and most of the miscellaneous orders and minutes
volumes include personal name indexes, primarily to names of decedents. Indexes that include
citations to pages containing nonarchival documents that were not microfilmed are identified as
such on the microfilm.
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 of the 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
intermittently throughout the volume or in separate sections. Final decrees (summary
proceedings) document the distribution of less 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.
Related materials: Several other kinds of probate documents also may 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.
The Nicollet County Final Decrees of Distribution were microfilmed in order to
permanently preserve their informational content. Two volumes were retained for their
artifactual interest; the remainder were discarded after microfilming.
Each subseries and each volume are preceded on the microfilm by an introductory "flash"
target. A running target beneath each film frame gives the title and producer of the microfilm
and the frame number.
Blank pages and some pages containing nonarchival records have not been filmed.
When citing materials from this microfilm, include the following information:
Document title and date; volume title, number/letter, dates,
and page number(s); microfilm roll and frame numbers.
Nicollet County. Probate Court. Final Decrees of
Distribution. Microfilm edition. Minnesota Historical Society.
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Availability:
The collection is open for research use.
Preferred Citation:
[Indicate the cited item and/or series here]. Nicollet 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, 1997.
Available for sale or interlibrary loan from the Minnesota Historical Society.
Location of Originals:
Originals for 1856-1860(part) (0.25 cubic feet) were retained for their artifactual value. Originals for 1860(part)-1976 (12.75 cubic feet) were disposed of after microfilming.
Accession Information:
Accession number: 988-178
Processing Information:
Catalog ID number: 990017128890104294
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