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State Archives of Florida Online Catalog

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	Record Group Number:	800000
	Series/Collection Number:	.L 317
	Creator:	Florida. Circuit Court (12th Circuit : Sarasota County)
	Title, Dates:	Probate records, 1921-1990.
	Amount:	5.00 microfilm reel 35 mm.
	Medium Included:
	Organization/Arrangement:	By record type, then chronological.
	Restrictions:
	Terms Governing Use:
	Biographical/Historical:	Sarasota County was created by act of the Florida Legislature on May 14, 1921 (Chap. 8515, Laws). It was formed from the southern portion of Manatee 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 of Sarasota County, Florida from 1921 to 1990. The series contains wills (1921-1927), general indexes to estates (1921-1990), registers of estates (1921-1929), guardianship records (1921-1938), miscellaneous records (1921-1926), appraisements and inventories (1921-1929), annual and final returns (1921-1929), administration records (1921-1928), testamentary records (1921-1928) and statutory notices (1921-1928). Some records on the microfilm list dates prior to 1921 when Sarasota County was created. These records were transferred from Manatee County and were recorded in Sarasota County in 1921 and 1922. 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. 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. 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. The miscellaneous records in this series contain guardianship, administration, estate inventories and testamentary records. Wills are also included these two volumes. 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. Inventories and appraisements concern the physical and financial aspects of the estate of the deceased. Land, household items, bank accounts and bonds are all parts of the estate which are counted and have values placed on them. Some documents list all items as well as the value; others list only the value of the items. 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. Statutory notices are records published in newpapers to inform the public of a persons death and the conditions of their estate. It serves to notify any creditors who may have any claims pending against the deceased. The statutory notice allows the creditors to file their claims against the estate within a specified time limit provided by the notice.
	Finding Aids:	Microfilm listing available.
	Additional Physical Form:
	Reproduction Note:	Microfilm.
	Location of Originals/Duplicates:	Circuit Court, Twelfth Judicial Circuit, Sarasota County. Office of the Clerk, Sarasota, Florida
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	Electronic Records Access:
	Subject Access Fields:	Guardianship Probate records. aat Wills. aat Estate inventories. aat Letters of administration. aat Sarasota County (Fla.)
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