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	Record Group Number:	800000
	Series/Collection Number:	.L 208
	Creator:	Florida. Circuit Court (18th Circuit : Seminole County)
	Title, Dates:	Probate records, 1912-1942.
	Amount:	6.00 microfilm reel 35 mm.
	Medium Included:
	Organization/Arrangement:	By record type.
	Restrictions:
	Terms Governing Use:
	Biographical/Historical:	Seminole County was created by an act of the Florida Legislature on April 25, 1913 (Ch. 6511, Laws). It was formed from the northeast portion of Orange 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 Seminole County, Florida, from 1912 to 1942. The series includes records of wills (1912-1935), administration records (1913-1942), guardianship records (1913-1942), and records of probate orders (1913-1936). All of the record books, except Record of Foreign Wills Book 3, are indexed. 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. "Foreign" probate records are those pertaining to a decedent who was not living in Seminole County at the time of death. The documents were filed in Seminole County Probate Court because portions of the estate were located within the county. 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 the relationships between the deceased and his family and denote ownership of specific property and goods. Will record books often contain other documents related to the execution of the will, such as letters testamentary and the oaths and bonds of executors. 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 administration records contain documents such as applications for letters of administration and the oaths and bonds of administrators. 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. Guardianship records include letters of guardianship, orders appointing guardians, guardianship oaths and bonds, petitions, and annual returns. Order books are a record of court orders handed down in probate cases. The orders include those appointing or discharging executors or administrators, orders for sales of estates, and orders to appraise personal and real property.
	Finding Aids:	Microfilm listing available.
	Additional Physical Form:
	Reproduction Note:	Microfilm.
	Location of Originals/Duplicates:	Circuit Court, Eighteenth Judicial Circuit, Seminole County. Office of the Clerk. Sanford, Florida.
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	Electronic Records Access:
	Subject Access Fields:	Probate records Florida --Seminole County Insurance, Surety and fidelity Florida Guardian and ward Florida --Seminole County Property appraisal. Guardianship Probate records. aat Wills. aat Estate inventories. aat Letters of administration. aat Seminole County (Fla.)
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