The Ancestor Hunt regularly adds and updates new collection links, as well as searches for and fixes broken links.
(This page's most recent update is November 2024)
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Probate records and wills are available online from all over the U.S. and are what I consider another hidden gem of information that can assist you in advancing your family history and genealogy research.
What can you find in these records? How about the date of death, spouse’s and children’s names, birth order, siblings and siblings’ spouses, parent’s names, and residence locations for all named persons? Also, ownership of land and/or other significant property, business names and occupation, military service, guardianships, and adoptions. Basically, anything owned by the deceased is typically listed and to whom it is to be assigned.
I won’t pretend to be an expert on the probate process – all I know is that I have discovered an amazing amount of good information from probate records and wills as part of my personal genealogy research.
Here are a few good primers on the benefits of searching probate documents and wills:
- FamilySearch – United States Probate Records
- Wills and Probate Records are Genealogy Riches
- How to Use Wills and Estate Records to Learn About Your Ancestors
- Probate Records Could Be the Key to Unlocking Your Family’s Hidden Past
Below, listed are links to probate records, wills, and indexes available for free online for the state.
Note: Please be aware that if you find a desired will or probate record in an index, the holder of the actual materials (e.g., (archive, county court, etc.) may charge a small fee to send you a copy of the material itself.
Note: Some links listed take you to a FamilySearch Collection of digital images. Near the bottom of the page under Film/Digital Notes is the name of each sub-collection. If there is a camera icon at the right of the name (in the Format column) then the collections’ images are browsable. If there is a camera with a key icon, it is only available at a Family History Center or affiliated library. If there is a film reel icon, then it is only available in microfilm format, not digital. To take full advantage make sure that you are logged in to FamilySearch. The results may be different if you are signed in, rather than not.
Montana Probate and Wills
- Beaverhead County, Probate Case Files, 1889-1922
- Beaverhead County, Probate Records, 1897-1956
- Big Horn County Records, 1884-2011
- Big Horn County Records, 1908-1960
- Big Horn County, Miscellaneous Probate Records, 1913-1947
- Big Horn County, Probate Estate Files, ca. 1913-1947
- Broadwater County, Index to Probate Registers 1897-1907; Wills and Probate Registers 1884-1961
- Cascade County Records, 1880-2009
- Cascade County Records, 1880-2009
- Cascade County Abstracts of Wills, 1884-1927
- Cascade County, Index to Probate Records and Abstracts of Wills, 1888-1978
- Cascade County, Probate Case Files, 1903-1926, 1888-1978
- Cascade County, Probate Records Case Files, 1889-1903
- Cascade County, Probate Records, 1888-1978
- Cascade County, Record of Wills, 1895-1930
- Chouteau County Records, 1876-2011
- Chouteau County Records, 1876-2011
- Chouteau County, Probate Card Index, 1880-1940
- Chouteau County, Probate Records, 1893-1948
- Daniels County, Probate Case Files, 1920-2010
- Daniels County, Will Records, 1929-1937
- Deer Lodge County Probate Records, (1890-1921) and Probate Indexes (1890-1921)
- Deer Lodge County, Probate Case Files, 1869-1890
- Flathead County Newspaper Probate Legal Notices
- Flathead County Records, 1871-2007
- Flathead County Records, 1871-2007
- Flathead County, Probate Records, 1893-1947
- Gallatin County Wills Index
- Gallatin County, Probate Court Cost Book, 1873-1889
- Gallatin County, Probate Records, 1866-1950
- Gallatin County, Wills, 1886-1918
- Glacier County, Probate Records, 1919-1949
- Granite County Records, 1865-2009
- Granite County Records, 1865-2009
- Granite County, Probate Case Files, 1889-1943
- Granite County, Probate Journals, 1893-1941
- Granite County, Probate Registers, 1893-1963
- Granite County, Will Records, 1893-1925
- Jefferson County, Probate Case Files, 1869-1932 and Registers of Probate Case Files, 1893-1932
- Judith Basin County Records, 1887-2012
- Judith Basin County Records, 1887-2012
- Judith Basin County, Probate Case Files
- Judith Basin County, Probate Records
- Lake County Records, 1857-2010
- Lake County Records, 1857-2010
- Lake County, Probate Index, 1923-1950
- Lewis and Clark County Probate Index 1865-1979
- Lewis and Clark County, Index to Probate Records 1865 – 1979
- Lewis and Clark County, Wills and Probate Proceedings Indexes 1904-1962
- Lincoln County, Probate Records, 1909-1944
- Madison County, Probate Case File, 1865-1899
- Madison County, Probate Records, 1800s-1922
- Meagher County Records, 1866-2012
- Meagher County Records, 1866-2012
- Meagher County, Probate Case Files, 1870-1839
- Meagher County, Probate Records, 1866-1930
- Mineral County, Probate Case Files, 1914-1940
- Mineral County, Probate Records, 1914-1947
- Missoula County Probate Records, 1901-1908
- Montana, Wills
- Pondera County Records, 1910-2012
- Pondera County Records, 1910-2012
- Pondera County, Probate Records, 1913-1933
- Powell County, Probate Records, 1901-1929
- Ravalli County, Probate Records, 1893-1922
- Rosebud County Records, 1878-2011
- Rosebud County Records, 1878-2011
- Rosebud County, Probate Record, 1883-1950
- Sanders County Records, 1866-2010
- Sanders County Records, 1866-2010
- Sanders County, Probate Records, 1905-1956
- Sheridan County, Probate Record, 1913-1942
- Silver Bow County Register of Estates 1881-1923, and Indexes
- Sweet Grass County Records, 1887-2011
- Sweet Grass County Records, 1887-2011
- Sweet Grass County, Estate Case Files, 1895-1940
- Sweet Grass County, Probate Records, 1895-2010
- Teton County Records, 1881-2012
- Teton County Records, 1881-2012
- Teton County, Probate Case Files, 1893-1940
- Toole County Records, 1913-1960
- Toole County Records, 1913-1960
- Toole County, Probate Estate Files, 1913-1940
- Toole County, Various Probate Estate Records, 1910-2013
- Toole County, Wills, 1910-1940
- Wills (Gallatin County Law & Justice Center)
- Yellowstone County Records, 1881-2011
- Yellowstone County Records, 1881-2011
- Yellowstone County, Miscellaneous Records, 1883-1939
- Yellowstone County, Orders and Decrees, 1896-1938
- Yellowstone County, Probate Records, 1897-1995
- Yellowstone County, Wills, 1891-1940
Good Luck and Happy Hunting!