A will is a way to find your ancestors

Most of us family historians joke that our ancestors sometimes speak to us.

We don't necessarily believe that psychics can commune with the spirit world. But we do know that our ancestors, in a manner of speaking, communicate with us from their graves through documents they created while they were alive.

A person's estate file may hold the answers to many family questions, but it's just as likely to leave you scratching your head in confusion. Some of that confusion can be eliminated once a researcher understands the purpose of the legal documents in the estate folder.

Today — and over the next three weeks — we'll explore the probate process and see just how loudly those ancestors can speak to us.

Probate is a process through which someone proves who is entitled to inherit from the deceased. This process determines who will get the personal and real property.

If a person died testate — that means he left a will — he probably specified who was to get his property and important personal items. He could leave his property to whomever he wished — whether or not they were related to him.

But if a person died intestate — without making a will — the law of the state will determine who gets what. Probate laws vary from state to state. Real estate descends according to the place where the land is located. Those with ancestors in several states probably will find ancillary probates filed in all of those states. Personal property, on the other hand, descends according to the deceased person's permanent residence, even if he died while on vacation in another location.

We loosely use the phrase that an ancestor left "a will." Actually there are different kinds of wills. Most wills are written by a person's lawyer in a specific format that the testator signs in the presence of two or three witnesses. This is called an attested will.

At the testator's death, someone — usually the person named as the executor in the will — presents the will to the court. The individuals who witnessed its making come forward and attest or swear to the court that they saw the person make the will and that to them he appeared to be in control of his faculties and not under the undue influence of anyone.

Another type of will is a holographic one. This document must be written entirely in the hand of the testator. It is invalid if anyone else makes a mark or writes anything on the paper. Holographic wills don't require witnesses. Not all states accept them, and they almost always are challenged in court.

Researchers may come across a nuncupative will, also called the deathbed will. It is an oral directive given before witnesses who must then immediately put the wishes to paper and present them to a court. Some states don't recognize these wills, and they can't be used to bequeath real estate.

Nuncupative wills are easy to spot in the court records. When the clerk entered these wills into the ledger books, he actually wrote the term "nuncupative" at the beginning of the entry.

Next week this column will explore how the probate process affected female ancestors.

If your research seems to be going nowhere, join me at the South Bay Genealogical Society meeting this month and I'll give you a "A Strategy for Research Success: How to Analyze Your Evidence and Plan the Next Step."

The group will meet Oct. 18 at the SouthShore Regional Library, 15816 Beth Shields Drive, Ruskin. Lunch will be served at noon and the presentation will begin at 1 p.m.

Reservations are required by sending a check for $13 (payable to South Bay Genealogical Society) to P.O. Box 5202, Sun City Center FL, no later than Tuesday. Then contact Russ Kenyon (813) 642-8155 to make your meal selection.