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Utah County Court, Probate, Tax and Other Miscellaneous Records
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See Also Researching Court Records, Researching Probate Records, Research In Immigration & Naturalization Records and 
Researching Tax Records
On-Site County Court Records Search - Find nearly any Utah court record online! Many court records are not digitized yet, which signifies the only way to obtain these records is by visiting the actual Pennsylvania courthouses. Someone from our network of court-runners will go retrieve the records and then send you the outcomes. Average response time is 38 hours. Utah Civil Records include Lawsuits, Bankruptcies, Liens and judgments, Marriage/divorce judicial proceeding, Child custody, Civil rights violations ands Other. Utah Criminal Records include Violent offenses, Theft and robbery, DUI/DWI's, Drugs and alcohol, Sexual crimes, Some traffic violations, Behavioral.
Utah Historical Records - Databases include Utah Court, Land, Wills & Financial Records; Utah Birth, Marriage & Death Records; Utah Voter Lists & Census Records; Utah Immigration & Emigration Records; Utah Obituary Records; Utah Military Records; Utah Family Tree Records; Utah Pictures; Utah Stories, Memories & Histories; Utah Directories & Member Lists and much more....
Definitions of Common Court Terms
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Utah Court Records
See Also Research In State Court Records
In the first years of settlement, an LDS bishops court system operated within the LDS Church structure, maintaining jurisdiction over criminal and civil cases for those residents in a particular ward of the church. Edwin B. Firmage and Richard C. Mangrum, Zion in the Courts: A Legal History of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, 1830–1900 (Urbana: University of Illinois, 1988), expertly covers the time period when church and civil courts overlapped. County courts were created in 1849, overseeing civil and criminal cases involving more than $100 until Utah became a territory in 1851, when the county court was replaced by the county probate court. Justice of the peace courts were established at the same time (1849) for cases involving less than $100 (changed to $300 in 1874) and continue to operate today. When the county probate courts ceased to exist in 1874, civil and criminal matters and probate matters were transferred to the federally operated territorial district court, which had held concurrent jurisdiction with the county probate court since 1852. Concurrent jurisdiction was a result of conflicts between the federal government and local citizens as to who should have legal jurisdiction. For a discussion of court records in Utah, see Jaussi and Chaston (1974), described in Background Sources and James B. Allen, “The Unusual Jurisdiction of County Probate Courts in the Territory of Utah,” Utah Historical Quarterly 36 (Spring 1968): 132-42. See also an online research guide on court records available from the Utah State Archives at <http://archives.utah.gov/referenc/referen.htm> for a compressed history of court records.
With statehood in 1896, a uniform statewide district court system (see Probate Records) took over civil and criminal matters as well as probate matters. There are voluminous court records available, but not indexed, on microfilm at the Utah State Archives. Included in their holdings are quite a few miners’ courts records, which frequently served the function of a county clerk in registering and transferring claims. Other historical materials on mining camps can be found at the Utah Historical Society (see Archives, Libraries, and Societies).
Since 1999, Utah law permits public access to adoption records over one hundred years old. See the Utah State Archives research guide at <http://archives.utah.gov/referenc/referen.htm>.
- Submit a website for Utah Court Records
- Order Utah County Court, Civil or Criminal Records
- Utah Court Books at Amazon.com
- Search Utah Court Records From All States
- Search Utah County Court Records
- Search Utah County Criminal Records with a Criminal Background Check
- Search for Utah Registered Sex Offenders in your local Area
- Utah Court, Land, Wills & Financial - Court records are an often overlooked, yet very valuable tool for finding information to assist you in your research. Land records, such as deeds, allow you to tie an ancestor to a specific place at a point in time. Other court records like those dealing with finances and estates often list related family members or give interesting details like the total value of property owned by your ancestors to add interest to your family history.
Utah Probate Records
See Also Research In State Probate Records
Probate functions (testate and intestate proceedings; guardianships for males under age twenty-one and females under age eighteen and those incompetent to handle their legal affairs) were shared by county probate courts and territorial district courts between 1852 and 1896. Records for these are generally at the county seat, though some probate records have been microfilmed and are accessible through the FHL and/or the Utah State Archives. Microfilm coverage varies between counties.
After 1896, jurisdiction for probate matters became the sole responsibility of the District Court that operated for the county. There are now eight judicial districts encompassing twenty-nine counties. To determine exactly which district a county belonged to at a particular time there are two finding aids. One is available at the Utah State Archives and the other is a guide that can be obtained by writing the Utah Judicial Council, Administrative Office of the Courts, 450 S. State St., P.O. Box 140241, Salt Lake City, UT 84114-0241, which has an online directory at <www.utcourts.gov/committees/index.asp>. Since 1 January 1989, all Utah courts were placed under the administration of this office. In trying to determine the county seat that was functioning as the probate court during a particular time period, that office will be the most efficient source.
Currently District 1 includes Box Elder, Cache, and Rich counties; District 2—Davis, Morgan, and Weber; District 3—Salt Lake, Summit, and Tooele; District 4—Juab, Millard, Utah, and Wasatch; District 5—Beaver, Iron, and Washington; District 6—Garfield, Kane, Piute, Sanpete, Sevier, and Wayne; District 7—Carbon, Emery, Grand, and San Juan; and District 8—Daggett, Duchesne, and Uintah.
- Submit a website for Utah Probate Records
- Research In Probate Records - from The Source: A Guidebook to American Genealogy.
- How to Locate Printed Probate Records
- Advantages of Printed Probate Records
- Limitations of Printed Probate Records
- Utah Probate Books at Amazon.com
Utah Naturalization Records
See Also Research In State Immigration & Naturalization Records
In general, naturalization records begin with the date the county was organized, and they may be in one of several courts holding concurrent jurisdiction. Naturalizations that were initiated between statehood (1896) and the federal changes in naturalization process (1906) are easier to locate since the district court was the only court in the state where the process could be started, and each court kept records individually by county in the district court office. Many of these may be found at the Utah State Archives and some are on microfilm at the FHL listed under Utah/[County]/Emigration and Immigration.
The Utah State Archives has an excellent online descriptive research guide “Utah Naturalization and Citizenship Records,” at <http://archives.utah.gov/referenc/referen.htm>. After 1906, in addition to federal courts, an applicant could apply at the state district court for the county or the state supreme court.
Since a large number of Mormons came to Utah from Europe, the number of naturalizations is rather large for a landlocked state. Passenger lists from those Mormon missions in Scandinavia (1872–94) and Europe (1840–1925) are on microfilm at the FHL. Jaussi and Chaston (1974) describe a full collection of emigration records in their book (see Vital Records).
- Submit a website for Utah Immigration Records
- Utah Immigration & Emigration - As our ancestors moved from one country to another, details about their lives were recorded on passenger lists and government documents. Immigration and emigration records can help you learn where your ancestors originally came from, where they went, when they left, who they traveled with, and more.
Utah Tax Records
See Also Researching in Tax Records
Some early tax records have been published as part of a state census (see Census Records), but microfilm copies of manuscript transcripts of crop records, school assessments, and property assessment are available for many counties on microfilm through the Utah State Archives and the FHL.
