§ 1423 Record of wills in former courts of probate; evidence

If someone wants to use an old will as evidence in a New York court case, and that will was proven and recorded before a judge of the old probate court before January 1, 1785, they may not have the original document anymore. This rule explains what they can use instead.

The person can use a certified copy of the will's record, as long as it has the official seal of whoever is keeping that record. Before the court will accept this copy, the person must first show that they made a real effort to find the original will but could not locate it. This means checking the likely places the original might be kept and being able to explain that search to the court.

Once that search is shown to have failed, the certified copy can stand in for the original will. This lets old wills from before 1785 still be used in court cases today, even though the original paper documents may be long lost.