Different Types of Legal Records
All US counties have legal records divisions or departments that house legal documents that have been filed and sorted as public records. Some counties have successfully maintained legal documents that date as far back as the early 1800s. Legal document indexes are likewise available for majority of legal record types from 1980 onwards - with a few exceptions. A number of counties even provide for legal document images for online viewing for certain instrument filings.
When searching for legal documentation, one source that covers a wide range of information is the courts. All sorts of legal documents are kept in such places, making them the first stop of serious genealogists and legal researchers.
Here are just some of the legal court records people will likely find available at courthouses:
- Probate records are great genealogical information sources. Creation of such records happens at the time of a person's death. These records are useful for establishing legalities of wills. A probate legal record will clue people in on what kinds of assets the decedent possessed. It also often lists the names of those who survived him and how they're related to the deceased.
- Adoption records include the adopted child's, the natural parents' and the adopting parents' names. Unfortunately, while these records contain a boatload of information, opening them is usually only allowed with a court order. Most of the time, only the adopted individuals can view them.
- Divorce records normally contain names of the husband and wife and their children. Such legal documents list the date and place of the marriage, the birthdates of the spouses, their birthplaces and the grounds for their divorce.
- Naturalization court records usually contain petitions for citizenship (filed at the Immigration and Naturalization Service), petitions with local court clerks and certificates of naturalization. The National Archives is the people's best bet for finding such records.
Dealing With Missing or Burned Legal Records in Court
Searching through legal documents in courts can sometimes be frustrating, especially when the records don't appear to exist. When confronted with missing or burned records, the following tips might help:
- Check out seemingly unrelated legal documents.
- Find out when government units started requiring filing of specific legal documents or records like birth and death certificates.
- Recognizing alternative names for legal documents will also come in handy. For instance, court proceedings in counties were nonexistent for some years, but the minutes, judgment or decision records and dockets could give some leads.
- Try looking at other counties' records.
- Private records like business, newspapers, diaries and church records could yield useful information so examining them is worth a shot.
- Give records at other government levels a look-see. If land records in a county "went up in smoke," try the provincial land records offices.
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