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State Archives of Florida Online Catalog

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	Record Group Number:	800000
	Series/Collection Number:	.L 172
	Creator:	Florida. Circuit Court (5th Circuit : Marion County)
	Title, Dates:	Probate records, 1846-1925.
	Amount:	36.00 microfilm reel 35 mm.
	Medium Included:
	Organization/Arrangement:	By record type.
	Restrictions:
	Terms Governing Use:
	Biographical/Historical:	Marion County was created by an act of the Legislative Council on March 14, 1844. It was formed from a portion of Alachua County and part of the now non-existant Mosquito County. Marion County's boundary was altered in 1853 when the southern portion was used for the creation of Sumter County. The boundary was altered again in 1877 when a northwest portion was annexed into Levy County. 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 for Marion County, Florida from 1846 to 1925. The series contains a general index to wills (no date), a general index to letters testamentary and letters of administration (no date), a general index to letters of guardianship (no date), indexes and letters of administration (1846-1854), probate and inventory records (1846-1859), letters of administration and guardianship (1857-1863), probate settlements and letters of administration (1858-1862), estates (1845-1858), inventories and account sales of estates (1853-1860), records of wills (1884-1925), index to microfilmed records of estates in probate court (1862-1973) and probate packets (no dates). Many of the record books contain indexes. The general indexes and the Index to Microfilmed Records of Estates in Probate Court may be of limited use. The indexes are not very accurate, and many of the records were not microfilmed. Some of the records can be retrieved by noting the box number of the entry. 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 regarding the relationships between the deceased and his family and denote ownership of specific property and goods. Probate is the transfer of property title and rights and of legal responsibility for payment of taxes or of custody from 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. Administration records concern people 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 guardianship records include letters of guardianship, orders appointing guardians, guardianship oaths and bonds, and annual returns.
	Finding Aids:	Microfilm listing available.
	Additional Physical Form:
	Reproduction Note:	Microfilm.
	Location of Originals/Duplicates:	Circuit Court, Fifth Judicial Circuit, Marion County. Office of the Clerk. Ocala, Florida.
	Associated Materials:
	Language Notes:
	Ownership/Custodial History:
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	General Note:
	Electronic Records Access:
	Subject Access Fields:	Probate records Florida --Marion County Probate records. aat Wills. aat Estate inventories. aat Marion County (Fla.)
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