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	Record Group Number:	800000
	Series/Collection Number:	.L 160
	Creator:	Florida. Circuit Court (8th Circuit : Levy County)
	Title, Dates:	Probate records, 1847-1921.
	Amount:	2.00 microfilm reel 35 mm.
	Medium Included:
	Organization/Arrangement:	Chronological.
	Restrictions:
	Terms Governing Use:
	Biographical/Historical:	Levy County was formed from portions of Alachua County by an act of the Legislative Council in 1845 (No. XXX, Territorial Laws). In 1877, the State Legislature enlarged Levy County by moving its boundary with Marion County farther east (Ch. 3060, Laws). The Clerk of the Circuit Court in each county serves as the official custodian of deed, marriage, and probate records.
	Summary:	This series consists of a microfilm copy of the probate records of Levy County, Florida, from 1847 to 1921. The series includes records of wills (1885-1921); letters of administration, guardianship and testamentary (1885-1904); and probate books (1847-1886). Probate is the transfer of property title and rights and of legal responsibility for payment of taxes or custodyfrom the deceased to another party, from a person judged incompetent or insane, or from a minor to an appointed guardian. Probate records document the administration and distribution of an individual's estate after death. A will is a legal instrument by which people declare how they wish their property or estate to be disposed of after their death. Wills usually contain direct statements of relationships between the deceased and his family and denote ownership of specific property and goods. The record of wills is indexed. Administration records concern those who died intestate--having no valid will and thus no provisions for their estate. These records document the appointment by the court of an administrator for such an estate. The need for a guardian usually occurs when a decedent is survived by minor children who by law are not considered capable of managing their own life. Thus the court appoints a guardian. The letters of guardianship are the formal instruments of the court appointing a guardian. Letters testamentary are the formal instruments of authority and appointment given to a person by the probate court, giving him the powers of executor of a decedent's will. The executor carries out the directions and requests of the will and disposes of the decedent's property. The volume of letters of administration, guardianship and testamentary is indexed. The probate books contain a variety of probate records. Included are records of wills; oaths and bonds of administrators, executors, etc.; estate inventories and appraisements; petitions to sell and divide estates; letters of administration, etc.; and other orders handed down by the probate court. Probate Book B also contains records of indenture and apprenticeship of minors. Probate Books B, C and D are indexed.
	Finding Aids:	Microfilm listing available.
	Additional Physical Form:
	Reproduction Note:	Microfilm.
	Location of Originals/Duplicates:	Circuit Court, Eighth Judicial Circuit, Levy County. Office of the Clerk. Bronson, Florida.
	Associated Materials:
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	Electronic Records Access:
	Subject Access Fields:	Probate records Florida --Levy County Decedents' estates Florida Indentured servants Florida Apprentices Florida Insurance, Surety and fidelity Florida Guardian and ward Florida --Levy County Guardianship Probate records. aat Wills. aat Estate inventories. aat Letters of administration. aat Levy County (Fla.)
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