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Note that if you are searching for a person who lived outside of Calcutta and the other capitals, up-country, in the Mofussil, they will probably be found in the records of the District Courts, not the Supreme Courts. The District Court records start from 1865, as explained in this [http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/a2a/records.aspx?cat=059-iorlag_4&cid=1-65#1-65 summary of L/AG/34 contents]. The only information available in relation to wills proved in District Courts are the summaries of grants made which are contained in the District Court Calendars of Probate. Unlike wills proved in the Supreme Courts at Calcutta, Madras and Bombay, copies of the actual wills were not sent to the India Office in London. These records do NOT appear to have been digitised by FindMy Past. At this point (December 2009) it appears most likely that the Indian Courts, rather than Regional State Archives in India would be most likely to hold the probated wills, if copies still exist. Details of both these sources may be found in [[Indian Libraries and Archives]].
Some wills proved in England relate to persons with links to India or, indeed, those who have actually died in India. Maybe property was held at home and abroad and, therefore, the will was proved in both places. Where this happened before 1858 a will held in the British Library may also be mirrored in the Documents Online section of the National Archives website – from where it can be downloaded at nominal cost. [http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/documentsonline/willsdeathduties.asp National Archives]. Both Ancestry and [[findmypast]] contain databases relating to wills prior to 1858. In Ancestry the databases are located in the collection Wills, Probates, Land, Tax & Criminal, while in findmypast the databases are located in Birth, Marriage, Death & Parish Records/Wills & probate.
For the period from 1858, [http://search.ancestry.co.uk/search/db.aspx?dbid=1904 England & Wales, National Probate Calendar (Index of Wills and Administrations), 1861-1941] is available through Ancestry.co.uk. Note there are a few gaps in records.
[[Findmypast]] also has two related datasets of these Index records called "Probate Calendars Of England & Wales 1858-1959" and "Probate Calendars Of England & Wales 1858-1959 - Browse", located under Birth, Marriage, Death & Parish Records/ Wills & probate.
<br>If you wish to order a copy of a will or grant mentioned in this collection, you can do so for a fee , online from the Principal Probate Registry or any district probate registry, or you can make a request by mail. Read how to do this in the [httphttps://wwwprobatesearch.hmcourts-service.gov.uk/cms/1176#calendar Find a will: GOV.htm Guide to obtaining UK], where you can search for the will or probate records from of any person in the UK who died between 1858 in England and Wales] by Her Majesty’s Courts Service 1996, and then order a copy online. Currently (March 2016) the website is a “Beta” (HMCSnot finalized) part of version, and the Search appears inadequate. It is recommended that you find details from findmypast or Ancestry, then use the details to locate the record on GOV.UK, from where you can complete the details for an online request for the will. Keep in mind that men who retired in India, and their families, could remain in India, or return to the Ministry of Justice UK (MoJEngland, Scotland Wales, and Ireland), or relocate to, and eventually die, anywhere in the world, including Australia, New Zealand etc. Areas close to the UK which were popular with retirees include [[French|France]] and the Channel Islands including Jersey. ==Also see==*[[British Army#Soldiers’ wills|British Army - Soldiers’ wills]]
==External Links==
*[http://www.awin1.com/awclick.php?mid=2114&id=201071 findmypast]
*[http://www.familysearch.org/eng/library/fhlcatalog/supermainframeset.asp?display=titlehitlist&columns=*%2C0%2C0&keyword=+Probate+India&prekeyword=+Probate+India Microfilms in the Family History Library] - a list obtained by a keyword search ('probate, India') of filmed India Office records in the [[LDS]] (Mormon) Family History Library Catalogue.
*[http://www.sog.org.uk/learn/help-getting-started-with-genealogy/guide-five Society of Genealogists: Guide Four: Probate Records] Edited and updated by Else Churchill and Geoff Swinfield 2015.:[http://www.sog.org.uk/uploads/Gillian_Stevens_and_Chad_Hanna_-Wills_and_Where_to_Find_Them.pdf Wills and Where to find them in England and Wales] by Gillian Stevens and Chad Hanna sog.org.uk [http://www.sog.org.uk/learn/who-do-you-think-you-are-2013-speakers-handouts/ from upload] 2013. '''Note''': some information may have changed, see 2015 link, but some information is still valid.*[http://www.scotlandspeople.gov.uk/content/help/index.aspx?r=554&407 Wills & Testaments] ScotlandsPeople scotlandspeople.gov.uk. Free to search, pay to view. Scottish wills.*[http://www.willcalendars.nationalarchives.ie/search/cwa/home.jsp Calendars of Wills and Administrations 1858 – 1920] National Archives of Ireland. Irish wills. Free records.*[http://catalogue.jerseyheritage.org Jersey Heritage: Archives & Collections Online] Includes wills for persons with connections to India. Download of an image requires either an annual subscription, or pay per view.
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