{"id":1280,"date":"2024-12-13T16:57:17","date_gmt":"2024-12-13T16:57:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/national-archives.go-vip.net\/?page_id=1280"},"modified":"2025-06-19T14:36:15","modified_gmt":"2025-06-19T14:36:15","slug":"testamentary-records","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/nationalarchives.ie\/ga\/collections\/court-records\/testamentary-records\/","title":{"rendered":"Testamentary records"},"content":{"rendered":"\n\n<section id=\"block-block_f4ea79dcf1231d20ff7a503a7813686c\" class=\"landing-page-header-block title-width-default block-color-muted-gold block-row-02-type-share block-row-02-share-position-bottom intro-full-width\" data-style=\"style-11\">    \n\n\t<div class=\"header \">\n\n\t\t\t\t\n<div class=\"translation-notice\">\n        <div class=\"inner container\">\n            <p><strong>Cuirfear aistri\u00fach\u00e1n ar f\u00e1il go luath<\/strong><\/p>\n            <p>\u00c1r leithsc\u00e9al as an m\u00edchaoithi\u00falacht. Cuirfear aistri\u00fach\u00e1n Gaeilge ar an leathanach seo ar f\u00e1il go luath. Go raibh maith agat as do chuid foighneachta agus muid ag obair ar leagan uasd\u00e1taithe.<\/p>\n        <\/div>\n    <\/div>\n\n\n\t\t\n\t\t<div class=\"container\">\n\t\t\t<div class=\"intro\">\n\t\t\t\t<h1 class=\"heading-0\">Testamentary records<\/h1>\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t<!-- mobile -->\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t<\/div>\n\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"header-row-02\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"share\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<button class=\"share-button pulse fade-in\" data-js=\"share-button\">SHARE<\/button>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"text h3\"><p>This page provides important information about testamentary records from the courts. It includes details on various record types, such as wills, grants of probate and intestacy. Additionally, it covers the historical background of testamentary jurisdiction and the availability of these records.<\/p>\n<\/div>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\n\t<\/div>\n\n\t\n<\/section>\n\n\t<span class=\"notification-top\" data-js=\"share-copied\">URL copied to clipboard<\/span>\n\n\n<section id=\"block-block_f9438e361a0187b7551e1d9568e4d57c\" class=\"content-tile-block nai-block margin-top-small margin-bottom-none image_right text-regular text-black extra-padding-b bg-white no-border-top smaller-heading\" data-layout=\"layout-1-2\">        \n\t\t<div class=\"container\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"content\">\n\t\t\t<div class=\"image\" data-image=\"cover\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t<div class=\"text\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"text-content cms-content\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<h2>The importance of testamentary records<\/h2>\n<p>Access to testamentary records is crucial for researchers, genealogists, and legal professionals because they provide detailed insights into family histories, property ownership and the execution of a deceased person&#8217;s final wishes.<\/p>\n<h3>Types of testamentary records<\/h3>\n<p>The Probate Office, an office of the High Court, is responsible for the administration of testamentary records. The two main types of testamentary records are wills and letters of administration.<\/p>\n<h4>Wills<\/h4>\n<p>When a person makes a will they set out their wishes as to how their property and effects are to be divided and disposed. They also nominate individuals known as executors to carry out their wishes. An executor may apply to the Probate Office and a grant of probate will be issued to enable them to administer the estate of the deceased.<\/p>\n<h4>Letters and grants of administration<\/h4>\n<p>If a person dies without making a valid will, this is known as dying intestate. When a person dies intestate, the next of kin may apply to the Probate Office for letters of administration to manage the deceased&#8217;s property. Upon approval, a grant of administration is issued.<\/p>\n<h2>Historical context of testamentary records<\/h2>\n<p>Prior to 1857, the Church of Ireland managed testamentary jurisdiction. The Probate Act of 1857 transferred this power to the Principal Registry in Dublin and 11 District Registries.<\/p>\n<p>These were: Armagh, Ballina, Belfast, Cavan, Cork, Kilkenny, Limerick, Londonderry, Mullingar, Tuam and Waterford.<\/p>\n<p>In 1967, the Probate Office replaced the Principal Registry and the number of district registries increased to 14.<\/p>\n<p>These are: Castlebar, Cavan, Clonmel, Cork, Dundalk, Galway, Kilkenny, Lifford, Limerick, Mullingar, Sligo, Tralee, Waterford and Wexford.<\/p>\n<h2>How to access wills and administrations<\/h2>\n<p>The calendars of wills and administrations act as finding aids for accessing wills and grants from 1858 to 1982. They are available in our Reading Room and are also searchable in our online catalogue for the years <a href=\"http:\/\/www.willcalendars.nationalarchives.ie\/search\/cwa\/home.jsp\">1858-1920<\/a> and <a href=\"http:\/\/www.nationalarchives.ie\/search-the-online-catalogue\/advanced-search\/#!\/details\/110500833\">1923-1982<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/ebow.gathercontent.com\/item\/17785206\">How to find a will<\/a><\/p>\n<h3>Availability of older records<\/h3>\n<p>Under the Public Record Office Act, 1967, records are transferred to the Public Record Office after 20 years. Unfortunately, a fire in 1922 destroyed many original wills and administrations. As a result, almost all original wills and administrations of the Principal Registry up to 1904 and the District Registries up to 1900 were lost.<\/p>\n<h3>Surviving copies<\/h3>\n<p>Some copies survive in Principal Registry Will Books and District Registry Will Books, with microfilm copies available for certain districts.<\/p>\n<h4>Principal Registry Will Books<\/h4>\n<p>Some copies of wills survive for 1874, 1878, 1891 and 1896.<\/p>\n<h4>District Registry Will Books<\/h4>\n<p>Copies of wills proved in the District Probate Registries between 1858 and 1900 may be found in the District Registry Will Books.<\/p>\n<p>Will books for Ballina, Cavan, Cork, Kilkenny, Limerick, Mullingar, Tuam and Waterford are available on microfilm (Testamentary, Will Books 1664-1901 (MFGS 41)<\/p>\n<h3>Availability of recent records<\/h3>\n<p>Each District Probate Office is responsible for transferring its records. As a result, the most recent year for which records have been transferred varies by county. The most recent year for which testamentary records are held is 1992.<\/p>\n<p>For any records more recent than this, contact the <a href=\"https:\/\/services.courts.ie\/taking-action\/probate\">Probate Office<\/a> or relevant District Probate Registry.<\/p>\n<h2>Order testamentary records<\/h2>\n<p>Wills and other testamentary records issued before 1975 are stored at our Four Courts repository.<\/p>\n<p>You can order records:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>In person, to be ready to view in the Reading Room in two working days<\/li>\n<li>By email, to be ready to view in the Reading Room in three working days<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"ctas\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t<\/div>    \n<\/section>\n\n<section id=\"block-block_6f1dece30c60dac1ca0ea472fd886de9\" class=\"cards-row-block nai-block margin-top-small margin-bottom-default numbers-columns-3 images-ratio-landscape\">\n    <div class=\"container\">          \n                    <section class=\"cards\">\n                                    <article class=\"card-component fade-in\">\n                        <a href=\"https:\/\/nationalarchives.ie\/ga\/collections\/court-records\/circuit-court-records\/\" title=\"Circuit Court records\">\n                                                                                                                \n                            <div class=\"intro no-pb\">\n                                                                <h3 class=\"\">Circuit Court records<\/h3>                                <p>Types of cases dealt with by the Circuit Courts include defamation and false imprisonment cases, minor land valuation matters, malicious\/criminal injury, intoxicating liquor licences and family law.<\/p>                    \n                                                            <\/div>\n                        <\/a>\n                    <\/article>\n                                    <article class=\"card-component fade-in\">\n                        <a href=\"https:\/\/nationalarchives.ie\/ga\/collections\/court-records\/district-court-records\/\" title=\"District court records\">\n                                                                                                                \n                            <div class=\"intro no-pb\">\n                                                                <h3 class=\"\">District court records<\/h3>                                <p>The District Court is organised on a regional basis. There are 23 districts all over Ireland, including the Dublin Metropolitan District. <\/p>                    \n                                                            <\/div>\n                        <\/a>\n                    <\/article>\n                                    <article class=\"card-component fade-in\">\n                        <a href=\"https:\/\/nationalarchives.ie\/ga\/collections\/court-records\/high-court-records\/\" title=\"High Court records\">\n                                                                                                                \n                            <div class=\"intro no-pb\">\n                                                                <h3 class=\"\">High Court records<\/h3>                                <p>The High Court has the power to determine the validity of any law having regard to the constitution. It hears civil and family law appeals from the Circuit Court. Although the High Court normally sits in Dublin, it also sits in circuit throughout the country at various times during the year.<\/p>                    \n                                                            <\/div>\n                        <\/a>\n                    <\/article>\n                            <\/section>\n        \n    <\/div>\n<\/section>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":0,"parent":3020,"menu_order":1,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"inline_featured_image":false,"editor_notices":[],"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-1280","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.3 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Testamentary records - An Chartlann N\u00e1isi\u00fanta<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/nationalarchives.ie\/ga\/collections\/court-records\/testamentary-records\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Testamentary records - 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