The National Probate Calendar is a register of proved

wills Wills may refer to: * Will (law) A will or testament is a legal document that expresses a person's (testator) wishes as to how their property ( estate) is to be distributed after their death and as to which person (executor) is to manage the pr ...

and administrations in

England and Wales England and Wales () is one of the three legal jurisdictions of the United Kingdom. It covers the constituent countries England and Wales and was formed by the Laws in Wales Acts 1535 and 1542. The substantive law of the jurisdiction is Eng ...

since 1858.

History

The probate calendar was created by the Probate Registry, which was responsible for proving wills and administrations from 1858 following enactment of the

Court of Probate Act 1857 The Court of Probate Act 1857 (20 & 21 Vict. c. 77) was an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It transferred responsibility for the granting of probate, and letters of administration, from the ecclesiastical courts of England and Wal ...

. It replaced a system of

ecclesiastical court An ecclesiastical court, also called court Christian or court spiritual, is any of certain courts having jurisdiction mainly in spiritual or religious matters. In the Middle Ages, these courts had much wider powers in many areas of Europe than be ...

s. The Principal Probate Registry was established in London in January 1858, along with district probate registries elsewhere in England and Wales.

Content

Information typically included in the calendar is: *Name of the deceased *Date and place of death *Value of the estate *Names of administrators or executors *Date of probate

References

External links

Online scans
at probatesearch.service.gov.uk Wills and trusts in the United Kingdom {{law-stub