lazer@... writes:
Allan Jordan is looking for the person his ggf left a legacy to in his
will. Ggf died in1941. Exact procedures vary >from state to state, but here is
the general outline...

Yes I agree it is worth the time to check the court records. However that of
course assumes the person left a will. Otherwise there maybe called what is an
administration.

I have don this research for a number of people and sometimes you find far more.
I have often how documents that explain relationships and on occasion a few
surprises. For example one recently had a document >from Russia where a woman had
sworn she was the sister of the deceased and the document was fascinating because
it went through several layers of the Soviet bureaucracy before it got to the US
court. In another one I found the documentation of a hearing about the will itself
because there was questions of the content and originality because the pages were
in different typefaces. The one went into chapter and verse of who each person
was, including their addresses, ages, relationship to the deceased and more.

And then there is my situation where I went to the court house and found nothing
more than what I already had. A copy of the person's will and the notice published
in the newspaper about his estate. No details on my ggf's estate beyond what I
already had.

Also one big caution, check with the courts before you go to the court. In some
cases the files are off site and re not an immediate find. Also as I recall in
Newark New Jersey they were destroying records prior to the 1940s or at least
moving them off site because they were overflowing the records room.

So it is bet to call the court and do your legwork before you go to there and are
surprised by what is or is not available. Each court house is different.

Allan Jordan