Record series
Wills
VPRS 7591
1853 - 1992
Open, Not set
North Melbourne
Agencies
This record series was created by:
Master in Equity, Supreme Court (also known as Master in Equity and Lunacy 1867-1923) ( VA2624 ): 1853 - 1948
Registrar of Probates, Supreme Court ( VA2620 ): 1853 - 1992
Master of the Supreme Court ( VA2613 ): 1948 - 1960
Agencies responsible for this record series: Registrar of Probates, Supreme Court ( VA 2620 ): 1960 - present
Date Range
Series date range: 1853 - 1992
Series in custody:
1853 - 1992
Contents in custody:
1853 - 1992
Function / Content
A Will is a legal document that sets out the instructions of a person in relation to the distribution of his or her property after their death. The Will usually names one or more persons to carry out the wishes and directions in relation to the estate, this person is called the executor. The term executrix was historically used for women executors. The estate can only be dealt with after the Will has been approved by the Registrar of Probates. This approval is called the Grant of Probate and the document giving the approval is called the Probate. See VPRS 28 Probate and Administration Files and VPRS 7592 Wills and Probate and Administration Files for more information.Until around 1922, Wills were copied by transcription. When records were first transferred from the Probate Office, the original wills were retained and the volumes of transcribed wills were transferred as VPRS 27 Transcriptions of Wills [Also Known As Register of Wills].
Under the Administration and Probate Act 1958, a Will may be deposited in the Office of the Registrar at any time for safe keeping. This series only includes Wills that have been been approved through Probate. Wills that have not gone through Probate are generally held by the Office of the Registrar until they are needed. Unapproved Wills may also be held by a legal practitioner, or, if the legal practitioner is no longer practising, the Victorian Legal Services Board and Commissioner.
How to use the records
This series can be searched by name of the deceased. The following indexes may also be used to identify the file number of interest:- VPRS 3340 Index to Probates and Administrations Issued [Microform] (1841 - 1992)
- VPRS 262 Index to Probates and Administrations Issued (1853 - 1888)
- VPRS 20692 Register of Probates and Administrations Issued II (1889 - 1989)
Recordkeeping system
When an application for grant of probate was lodged with the Probate Office, the Will was generally included amongst other papers relating to the deceased's estate. Wills were later removed and stored separately from the remaining papers, presumably for ease of storage due to their varied paper sizes. From approximately March 1992, when flat A4, rather than folded, files were introduced in the Probate Office, wills and probate files were kept together and transferred to PROV in VPRS 28 Probate and Administration Files.Wills were registered using the same file number as the Probate and Administration Files to maintain a link to the case file proper. In some cases, a copy of the Will is included in the Probate and Administration Files.
The files are arranged in a sequential number system and were divided into "series" of 1000 files with a sequential allocation of numbers between 1 and 1000 in each series. For example: 106/291, this refers to the 291st file in the 106th series.
File numbers were allocated in VPRS 261 Register of Probates and Administrations Issued I until 1900, after which a self-indexing register was introduced (VPRS 20692 Register of Probates and Administrations Issued II). This new register backdated entries from 1889, functionally replacing VPRS 262 Index to Probates and Administration Issued which covered the period 1853 to 1888. As the new register was arranged in relatively precise alphabetical order by surname, "Rough Index Books" (VPRS 20696) were used to allocate the file numbers. The earliest extant Rough Index Book dates from 1909 and so it is unclear if Rough Index Books were used prior to this date. As the earliest books are repurposed volumes such as unused cash books, they were likely initially seen as purely facilitative records and may have been destroyed once the file details were formally entered into the register. This system remained in use until the electronic system, known as SCORPION, was introduced in 1990.
