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Bill Eddleman

Local History

Bill Eddleman, Ph.D. Oklahoma State University, is a native of Cape Girardeau County who has conducted genealogical research for over 25 years. He retired from Southeast Missouri State as Professor of Biology in 2016, and has been Associate Director of the Cape Girardeau Research Center, State Historical Society of Missouri, since July 2017.

Genealogical information in the probate process -- testate inheritance

Saturday, January 28, 2023

Some of the most valuable documents for genealogy are wills and the documents related to the legal process of administering a person's property after their death. This process is called probate. If the deceased wrote a valid will, probate is termed testate; if not, it is intestate. Probate occurs in order to provide an orderly and fair process to transfer property to the heirs of the deceased. A will guides this process, but lacking a will, transfer is guided by probate law. I will consider general information and wills in this column and intestate probate in the next.

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