Wills

Where can I find wills and other probate records?

Wills needed to be 'proved' before they were enacted - this was done by a court, who kept the original will and issued a probate copy to the executors (the people responsible for carrying out the wishes of the testator).

Wills should generally be proved shortly after the testator dies, although sometimes this process could take longer if their were challenges or other legal complications.

Before 1858 this was done by church courts. In Dorset this would usually be the Dorset Archdeaconry Court, but there are also a number of 'peculiars' in Dorset (other church courts who had a historical right to prove wills).

• There is a card index of Dorset wills, arranged alphabetically by surname, at the History Centre
• The wills themselves are on microfilm, or can be accessed through the Ancestry website
• Some wills will have been proved at one of the 'higher' church courts outside the county - the highest is the Prerogative Court of Canterbury (PCC), and these PCC wills can be searched and downloaded through  The National Archives website (opens in a new window) for a fee

After 1858 wills were proved by a civil court.

• We hold the calendar (i.e. summary list) of these wills on microfilm for 1858 to 1935
• To obtain a copy of a post-1858 will you will need to contact the Probate Department in the Principal Registry of the Family Division - see our guide to wills (pdf, 31kb) (opens in a new window)

There are also many probate copies of wills within our collections (particularly solicitors' collections) - you can search for these using our online catalogue.

Types of probate records

• Wills are statements of how a person (the testator) wants their property to be disposed of after their death
• Letters of administration (or admons) are documents indicating how property was to be disposed if someone died without having made a will
• Inventories are lists of someone's personal property, giving the value of each item

Who made wills?

• Potentially people of any social class could make a will, but the poor tended not to
• Men had to be over the age of 14, women had to be 12 or over
• Married women could not make wills until after 1882 
• Criminals, lunatics or people who had been excommunicated could not make wills