Archives of Manitoba
Find a Will / Estate File in Manitoba Court records
The Archives of Manitoba holds Manitoba estate files, including wills, for deceased individuals whose estates were probated in a Manitoba court. (Probate is the process of legally establishing the validity of a will before a judicial authority.)
To find a will filed in Manitoba, you will need to find the estate file. An estate file contains the documents that a court in Manitoba uses to disperse a deceased person's possessions, whether the person died with a will (testate) or without a will (intestate). Most estate files contain a copy of the will, if it exists. Prior to 1973, legal instruments such as grants of probate and letters of administration were filed separately in probate books. After 1973, these instruments were kept on the estate file.
Estate files are transferred to the Archives of Manitoba after 10 years (regional courts) or 20 years (Winnipeg). Contact the Manitoba Courts for access to estate files that have not yet been transferred to the Archives.
- Consult the glossary of terms and FAQs related to estate files and other records of probate.
To find an estate file at the Archives of Manitoba, follow these three steps:
Step 1: Search an index
Note: for estates probated in 1984, both indexes may need to be consulted.
Step 1a: Estate Files, 1870 to 1984
Search the Manitoba Estate File Index for the name of the deceased individual.
- Check the year to ensure that you have found the right person. Note that the date of death and the date of probate may not be the same, although usually they are close.
- Search different spellings if you aren’t finding someone.
- Note the file number and the court. Note the book and folio number(s) if they are provided.
- Go to Step 2 to find the location code.
Step 1b: Estate files, 1984-present
Search the Court Registry for the name of the deceased individual.
- Limit your search by QB Probate.
- Note the file number and use the codes below to determine the court.
- The file number has four components, for example, PR15-01-01234:
- Court (PR=Probate) (See Court Division Codes)
- Year
- Court location (01=Winnipeg) (See Court Location Codes)
- File number
- The file number has four components, for example, PR15-01-01234:
- Go to Step 2 to find the location code.
Step 2. Find the location code
Step 2a. I found a file number: Find the location code for the estate file
- Click on the series description for the court noted in the index:
- Scroll to the bottom of the database record to the list of accession numbers.
- Click on the accession number for which the dates correspond to the date of the estate file.
- Scroll through the list to find the range of file numbers in which the estate file number fits.
- Click on the file range. This is the listing record for the box in which the file is located. Note the following information to order the file: file number and name, schedule number, series name, accession number, location code.
- Go to Step 3, Request to view the original record.
Step 2b: I found book and folio number(s): find the location code(s) for the related probate book(s).
If you found a reference to one or more books and folio numbers, it means there is related information in another record. Probate books include various instruments issued by the Court authorizing the administration of the estate of a deceased person. These might include: grant of probate (a transcribed copy of the will may be included), letters of administration and special grants.
- Click on the series description for the court noted in the index
- Scroll to the bottom of the database record to the list of accession numbers.
- Click on the accession number for which the dates correspond to the date of estate file.
- Scroll through the list to find the book number.
- Click on the listing for the book number. This is the listing record for the book in which the record is located. Note the following information to order the file: schedule number, series name, accession number, location code.
- Once you have received the book, use the folio number to locate the appropriate page.
- See Step 3, Request to view the original record.
Step 3: Request to view the original record
The original records can be viewed in the Archives Research Room. You will need to request the record(s) from the archival vaults.
- If the location code you have found begins with a G followed by several numbers and no hyphens (e.g. G 1234), the record is stored at the Archives and can be requested and viewed the same day in the Archives Research Room.
- If the location code you have found begins with a letter followed by a hyphen and several numbers (e.g. G-1-2-3) or it begins with a Q (e.g. Q 1234), the record is stored at our offsite storage facility and has a two-day retrieval time. Read more about ordering records in advance.
- Estate files are listed at the box level, with a file number range, in Keystone. Please identify the specific file number and title (name of person) in the item description field on the retrieval request slip, rather than the file number range of the box.
