Search Perry County Probate Records

What Probate Covers in Perry County

Perry County does not run a stand-alone probate court. Probate here moves through Chancery Court, the equity branch of the state trial system, and the case files are kept by the Chancery Clerk. Mississippi splits its trial work between two courts. Circuit Court takes felony cases and many lawsuits. Chancery Court takes the equity side, which includes estates, wills offered for probate, guardianships, and conservatorships. So a search for a will, an estate, or a guardianship in Perry County starts with the Chancery side, not a separate probate division.

The range of matters filed as probate is wide. Some cases settle the property of a person who has died. Others protect a child or an adult who cannot handle money or daily decisions. The Chancery Clerk records these kinds of probate work for Perry County residents.

• Estates, testate when there is a will and intestate when there is none
• Wills, but only when offered in the probate of an estate
• Guardianships for minors and incapacitated adults
• Conservatorships that manage a protected person's property
• Minor's settlements
• Will contests
• Muniment of title and probate accountings

One point trips up many searchers. A will is not automatically on file at the courthouse. The clerk's office holds a will only when it has been offered in the probate of an estate. A will kept at home, in a safe deposit box, or with an attorney will not appear in a Chancery search until someone files it.

Probate Terms Defined

Probate paperwork uses words that rarely come up in daily life. A short glossary helps when reading a petition, a decree, or a clerk's index entry. These terms show up across estate, guardianship, and conservatorship files in Perry County.

Testator

A person who makes a will and dies leaving it in force.

Executor

The person named in a will to gather assets, pay debts, and distribute the estate.

Intestate

Dying without a valid will, so state law decides who inherits.

Guardianship

Court-appointed responsibility for a minor or an incapacitated person.

Conservatorship

A Chancery matter that manages the property and affairs of a protected person.

How to Search Perry County Probate Records

A Perry County probate records search runs through more than one channel. There is no single county probate website. The Chancery Clerk counter and phone line handle most estate, will, guardianship, and conservatorship questions. Electronic case files can be viewed through the statewide court system once you register for public access. Land records tied to an estate sit in a separate property portal.

The steps below move from the clerk to the online systems.

1. Decide whether an estate must be opened and whether the person left a will.
2. Contact the Perry County Chancery Clerk to ask whether a will or estate file is already recorded. A will sits in the office only after it is filed in the probate of an estate.
3. For an electronic case, register through PAMEC and view the docket on the Tenth Chancery MEC system.
4. Search the Perry County official-records portal when estate property, deeds, mortgages, or liens are involved.
5. Ask the clerk for copy and search procedures, fees, and accepted payment when a file is not online.

Note: A will becomes public once filed in a probate, but a will that was never offered for probate stays private and will not appear in any Perry County court search.

Where Perry County Probate Cases Are Filed

Probate venue in Perry County is the Chancery Court for the Tenth Chancery District, with day-to-day records kept at the county courthouse in New Augusta. The Chancery Clerk is the records custodian and the first contact for estate and guardianship files. The district's chancellors hear the cases and sign the orders. The same office is profiled in full on the Perry County Chancery Clerk page.

The Tenth Chancery District also covers Forrest, Lamar, Marion, and Pearl River Counties, so the chancellors rotate among courthouses. For a Perry County estate or guardianship, file and request records at the New Augusta courthouse through the Chancery Clerk.

Perry County Probate Filing Fees

Probate filing fees in Perry County follow the Chancery civil case fee sheet. Most probate categories land near the same total, with a small difference based on whether a court reporter fee applies. Copy and certified-copy charges are separate from the filing fee. The amounts below reflect the published Chancery civil case filing fee sheet and the county recording fee sheet. Confirm exact totals with the clerk before filing, since fee sheets change.

Important. Card payments are not accepted. The Chancery Clerk takes cash, check, or money order only, whether you file in person or pay by mail.

What Perry County Probate Records Show

A Perry County probate file grows as the case moves from opening to closing. Early documents identify the decedent or protected person and the people who will act for the estate. Later documents track the property and the court's orders. A typical file carries the fields below.

• Case number assigned by the Chancery or MEC system
• Name of the decedent, protected person, or minor
• Petitioner, administrator, executor, guardian, or conservator
• Filing date and the estate or guardianship type
• Whether a will was filed
• Letters, inventories, accountings, and required notices
• Orders and the final closing or accounting

Estate property often connects to land records. A deed, mortgage, or lien on the decedent's real estate is recorded on the property side, not inside the probate file. Researchers checking a full estate usually pull both the Chancery probate case and the recorded land instruments.

Restricted Perry County Probate Records

Not every probate matter is open to the public. Guardianships and conservatorships involve people the court has found unable to protect themselves, so these files often hold medical, financial, and disability details that are restricted or redacted. Records that name minors get the same care. A clerk may withhold or seal parts of a file by law or court order.

Personal identifiers are also screened. The county official-records system limits Social Security numbers, dates of birth, driver's license numbers, and bank or card account numbers in images posted online. When a document is sealed or a protected person's file is closed, access usually requires party or counsel status or a court order. Domestic cases that touch an estate, such as a divorce that divides marital property, run through the same Chancery Court, and those are covered in Perry County marriage and divorce records.

Common Questions About Perry County Probate Records

A few questions come up again and again at the Chancery counter. The answers below reflect how probate is handled in Perry County and where each kind of file lives.

Is there a separate Perry County probate court? No. The county has no stand-alone probate court. Estates, wills offered for probate, guardianships, and conservatorships are all filed and heard in Chancery Court, with the records kept by the Chancery Clerk in New Augusta.

How do I find out if a will was filed? Call or visit the Chancery Clerk and ask whether a will or estate file is on record. A will reaches the courthouse only when someone offers it in the probate of an estate, so a will that was never filed will not show up in any county search.

Can I view a probate case online? Electronic Chancery cases can be viewed through the Tenth Chancery MEC system after you register for public access with PAMEC. Older or non-electronic files are pulled at the clerk's counter, and copies are requested there.

What about land in the estate? Deeds, mortgages, and liens on a decedent's property are recorded separately in the county official-records portal. A complete estate search usually means checking both the Chancery probate case and the recorded land instruments.

Note: The Chancery Clerk cannot give legal advice or tell a filer what to put in a petition, so people opening an estate without an attorney should confirm Mississippi procedure before they file.