See Dr. Ben Page's Probate record in the Archive About Probate Records Probate records are those records and files kept by a probate court. In the absence of a will, inheritance laws have provided for the passing on of property, belongings, and assets. Probate courts are under state jurisdiction. State probate laws have changed over the centuries. The kinds of records to be found in probate files have changed accordingly.
Probate laws can vary from state to state but tend to follow certain general practices.
The probate of the estate of someone who has died and has left a will is called testate. The probate of the estate of someone who has died but has not leave a will is called intestate. In Martha Ballard's time, the late eighteenth century, not all wills were probated. Outstanding debts had to be paid before the estate could be distributed to heirs, but often, after a person died, the heirs handled the estate informally. They paid off debts and then divided the estate according to the will or as provided for by law, such as apportioning the use of one third to a widow until her death.