Hello List! I'm a little confused.......so what else is new???? I was at the library in Cloverdale yesterday looking at wills. Found one (yea!) now have to apply for a copy of one filed in 1950. I phoned Wills Registry and they said they do not provide copies of wills - only the registry number. She said "phone the courthouse". Before I make a fool of myself there.........could SKS tell me if this is correct???? Thanks in advance, Carol Coquitlam, B.C.

Carol: Well this may be no problem at all, as the will is certainly now at BC Archives. And the papers on the settlement of the estate are probably in BC Archives too, called a probate file, and filed separately according to the town in which the case was handled. If you have the WILL NUMBER, you just have to ask the staff to look it up for you on microfilm, and make a copy. Within their half hour time limit, they should be able to get the PROBATE FILE too, which could be interesting, as that file has MORE information, such as the names and addresses of all who benefitted under the will, at the date the estate was settled. You can ask them to copy only the pages that have genealogically useful information on them, or maybe you'd like the whole file, if you're curious about the assets of the estate. Check first to see how many pages are involved! The cost is just the cost of the copies, 40 cents per page if you get the pages reduced to 8 1/2 x 11" sized paper. Even if all you were given was the name of the TOWN where the will was probated, that will be useful if you want the PROBATE FILE. A few court registries around the province are rather lax about sending their old probate files to the BC Archives, but most probate files from that era, 1950, are transferred there by now. ALL WILLS up to 1981 are available at BC Archives. Just leave your request for the information you need in the electronic form at the bottom of the INQUIRIES page on BC Archives' website: http://www.bcarchives.gov.bc.ca/services/inquiry/accescom.htm (Be very specific and give them all the information you have on this will.) Or you can telephone them. Contact information is on the website. Good luck. Claudia Claudia Cole Independent Research Agent 304 - 1960 Lee Avenue Victoria BC V8R 4W8 Tel: 1 250 598-7859 claudialc@home.com -----Original Message----- From: Carol Wright [mailto:cricket56@home.com] Sent: Wednesday, August 29, 2001 1:10 PM To: CAN-BRITISH-COLUMBIA-L@rootsweb.com Subject: [CAN-BC] Obtaining a will Hello List! I'm a little confused.......so what else is new???? I was at the library in Cloverdale yesterday looking at wills. Found one (yea!) now have to apply for a copy of one filed in 1950. I phoned Wills Registry and they said they do not provide copies of wills - only the registry number. She said "phone the courthouse". Before I make a fool of myself there.........could SKS tell me if this is correct???? Thanks in advance, Carol Coquitlam, B.C. ==== CAN-BRITISH-COLUMBIA Mailing List ==== To New Subscribers : The online indexes to British Columbia Vital Records are at http://www.bcarchives.gov.bc.ca/textual/governmt/vstats/v_events.htm#indexes These records are freely available and there are several possibilities for accessing them at a low cost.