Putnam County Probate Division
Putnam County probate matters are handled by the Probate Division of the Circuit Court. Local directories list the Division II / Probate Clerk in Courthouse Room 204, with phone 660-947-2117. The Circuit Clerk main phone is 660-947-2071. Because official local directory pages conflict on some current officeholder names, probate copy and filing content should use the office title, room, and phone rather than an unverified personal name.
Probate case types include decedent estates, wills admitted to probate, applications for letters testamentary or administration, small estates, refusal of letters, guardianships of minors, guardianships of incapacitated persons, conservatorships, heirship proceedings, sale of real estate by a nonresident conservator, and proceedings to dispense with administration or conservatorship. Probate is part of the Missouri Circuit Court structure, which means public case entries may use statewide court terms even though the local office is in Unionville.
Probate Division of the Circuit Court
Putnam County Courthouse
1601 Main Street, Room 204
Unionville, MO 63565
Division II / Probate Clerk: 660-947-2117
Circuit Clerk: 660-947-2071
County offices: 8 a.m.-4:30 p.m. Monday-Friday
Putnam County Probate Terms
Probate filings use terms that are easy to confuse with general court language. These short definitions keep the record categories clear before searching a case or asking the clerk for copies. A probate term does not prove that a full estate case exists; it only describes the type of authority, filing, or status shown in the record.
- Testator
- A person who made a will.
- Executor
- A person named in a will to carry out estate duties after court authority is granted.
- Intestate
- Dying without a valid will, which can change who may apply to administer the estate.
- Letters
- Court-issued proof that a personal representative, guardian, or conservator has authority.
- Guardianship
- A court case giving a person authority over care or personal decisions for a minor or incapacitated person.
- Conservatorship
- A court case giving authority over property or financial matters for a protected person.
Search Putnam County Probate Records
Use Missouri Case.net first for public probate case entries that have been entered into the statewide system. Search by decedent name, interested party name, or case number if known. If the probate file is older, paper-only, confidential, or not yet entered, call the Probate Clerk or Circuit Clerk. The clerk can confirm whether the record is public, whether certified copies are available, and what payment or request method is required.
- Search Case.net by decedent, party, or case number if a probate case is already known.
- Check the case type, filing date, party names, docket entries, and any public letters or order entries.
- If no case appears, call the Probate Clerk at 660-947-2117 or the Circuit Clerk at 660-947-2071.
- Ask whether the file is public, archived, paper-only, sealed, or restricted by guardianship or mental-health rules.
- For estates, ask whether the filing route is small estate, refusal of letters, full estate administration, or another probate procedure.
- Request certified copies when letters, orders, or probate judgments must be used with banks, title companies, or agencies.
Putnam County Estate Records
Estate records may include the will, application for letters, order admitting a will, inventory, creditor notices, claims, settlements, distributions, and final orders. A will on its own may not give someone legal authority to act. The court's letters or order often supply the proof that a bank, title company, or public agency needs. For older estate books or paper files, the clerk call is important because the public search system may not replace courthouse record series.
Missouri's small estate process is documented in RSMo 473.097, the small-estate collection by affidavit statute.
Small estate filings can reduce the need for full administration in qualifying situations, but the clerk cannot choose the procedure for a filer or provide legal advice.
Estate copy point: A certified letter or order is often more useful than a public docket printout when an outside institution needs proof of authority.
Putnam County Probate Fees
The probate fee schedule comes from RSMo 488.012. The statute lists probate charges before adjustment, so a filer should verify the current total with the clerk before filing. Local payment methods, copy charges, and case-specific costs may vary by filing type and later court action.
| Probate item | Fee before adjustment |
|---|---|
| Receiving or keeping a will | $3 |
| Letters, estate less than $10,000 | $75 |
| Letters, $10,000-$25,000 | $115 |
| Letters, $25,000-$50,000 | $155 |
| Letters, $50,000-$100,000 | $245 |
| Letters, $100,000-$500,000 | $305 |
| Letters, more than $500,000 | $365 |
| Each additional 12 months estate remains open | $30 |
| Guardianship of a minor letters | $25 |
| Guardianship of incapacitated person letters | $50 |
| Guardianship/conservatorship of minor estate letters | $60 |
| Guardianship/conservatorship of incapacitated person and estate | $75 |
| Collection of small estates | $35 |
| Proceeding to determine heirship | $30 |
| Admit a will to probate | $25 |
| Probate copied page / certificate | $1 per page / $1.50 per certificate |
The court cost statute is the public source for the probate fee image below.
Use the table as a statute-based starting point, then confirm the current payable amount with the Putnam County Probate Division before filing.
Putnam County Guardianship Records
Guardianships and conservatorships are probate matters, but they are not always fully public. Files may include medical, financial, personal, minor-related, or capacity information. Public docket entries may exist while sensitive documents remain restricted. A person requesting copies should identify the case number, party name, and requested document, then ask the clerk whether public access is allowed.
Minor-related probate records and mental-health or incapacity details should be treated as restricted unless the court or statute allows access. Missouri's public-access policy under RSMo 610.011 does not override specific confidentiality rules. Juvenile court record confidentiality under RSMo 211.321 is also important when a probate matter touches a minor or protected person's information.
Note: A case may be visible by name while medical, financial, minor, or sealed filings remain unavailable to the general public.
Putnam County Probate Copies
Certified probate copies are often needed for banks, land transfers, vehicle title matters, insurance, benefits, or proof of authority. Ask the Probate Clerk whether the document should be a certified copy of letters, an order, a judgment, or another probate filing. For older records, ask whether the file is onsite, archived, or maintained in a bound record series. Case.net can help identify the case, but the certified copy comes from the clerk.
The direct request path is the Probate Division in Room 204. If the case relates to a divorce, family judgment, or ordinary civil file rather than an estate or guardianship, the Circuit Clerk may route the request through the general court records process. The related Putnam County Circuit Clerk page covers the broader clerk role.
Putnam County's courthouse history also matters for older probate research. University of Missouri Extension material says the county was organized in 1845 and that the county seat moved before Unionville became permanent. Modern Case.net records will not replace older books, archived files, handwritten indexes, or historic estate records. A genealogy or land-title search may need the courthouse office first, then a state archive or historical record route if the clerk confirms the record is no longer in the modern case-management system.
Before visiting, write down the decedent or protected person's name, approximate year, record type, and any known case number. Ask whether the file is public, whether the requested document can be certified, and whether a copy request should name letters, will, inventory, settlement, order, or docket sheet. Probate files can include many documents, so asking for the exact paper avoids broad searches and reduces the chance of receiving a docket page when a certified order is needed.
If the probate matter also affects land, marriage, or a later civil dispute, expect more than one Putnam County office to be involved. The probate file may show authority, while the Recorder or Circuit Clerk may hold the companion record.
Probate vs Bankruptcy Records
Probate and bankruptcy are separate record systems. Putnam County probate files are local Missouri Circuit Court records about estates, wills, guardianships, and conservatorships. Bankruptcy is a federal court matter filed in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Western District of Missouri. A deceased person's estate can raise debt questions, but that does not make a probate file a bankruptcy record. Use the local probate clerk for estate authority and the federal court system for bankruptcy case records.
The Western District of Missouri bankruptcy court page is the related federal source for bankruptcy records.
That federal source is useful only when the record sought is a bankruptcy case, not when the request is for a Putnam County estate, will, or guardianship file.