Webster County Probate and Chancery Court
Probate in Webster County runs through Chancery Court. Mississippi gives its Chancery Courts power over wills, guardianships, sanity hearings, equity, domestic matters, and land records. That makes Chancery Court the venue for nearly every probate matter in the county. Webster County sits in the Fourteenth Chancery Court District. The Chancery Clerk is the clerk of that court and the keeper of its files. Estate cases, will admissions, guardian appointments, and conservator orders all flow to that office.
The state's Chancery Court system also handles the family side of the docket, so divorce and custody share the same court as probate. Estate files, guardianship petitions, and conservatorship orders sit beside those cases in the clerk's books. The court issues the orders, letters, and decrees that move an estate from opening to close.
Probate Terms Defined
Probate filings use words that rarely come up anywhere else. A quick read of the core terms makes a Webster County estate file much easier to follow.
- Testator
- A person who leaves a valid will at death.
- Executor
- The person a will names to carry out its terms.
- Administrator
- The person a court appoints to settle an estate when there is no will or named executor.
- Intestate
- Dying without a valid will, which sends the estate to state succession rules.
- Decedent
- The person who died and whose estate is being settled.
- Estate
- The property, money, and debts a person leaves behind.
- Guardianship
- A court arrangement placing an adult in charge of a minor or an incapacitated person.
- Conservatorship
- A court order putting someone in charge of another person's money or property.
Wills and Estates in Webster County
An estate opens when someone files to settle a person's affairs after death. With a will, the named executor usually asks the court to admit the will and grant authority to act. Without a will, the estate is intestate, and the court names an administrator under state rules. Either way, the Chancery Clerk opens a file and the judge signs the orders that follow.
A Webster County estate file can grow to hold many parts as the case moves along.
- A will admitted to probate
- The petition to open the estate
- An order naming the executor or administrator
- An inventory of estate property
- Accountings of money paid in and out
- Notice to creditors and the claims they file
- A final decree of distribution that closes the estate
Each step leaves a record. Together they show how the estate moved from the first filing to final distribution.
Note: An estate is not closed until the court signs a final decree, so an open file may still be missing the inventory, accountings, or distribution papers.
Webster County Guardianship and Conservatorship
Not every Chancery case involves a death. Guardianship and conservatorship protect people who cannot fully manage their own affairs. A guardian handles the personal care of a minor or an adult who cannot care for themselves. A conservator manages money and property for another person. Both open in Webster County Chancery Court, and both stay under the court's watch.
Minor settlements run through the same court. When a child receives money from a lawsuit or an insurance claim, a judge reviews how those funds are held and used. The file tracks the money until the child is grown. These cases hold sensitive family and financial details, which is why the court guards them closely.
How to Search Webster County Probate Records
Webster County Chancery files run on Mississippi Electronic Courts, the statewide system known as MEC. Its public side is PAMEC, and any member of the public may register. The MEC court selector lists a separate entry for Webster County Chancery Court, and the county also has a direct Webster County Chancery Court address in the Fourteenth District.
Not everything shows up online. Several probate-adjacent case types are barred from remote view, so the courthouse counter stays the backup. To search by a decedent or a ward, give the clerk a name, an approximate date, and a case number if you have one.
| Field Label | Type | Required | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| MEC court selection | Dropdown | Yes | Select Webster County Chancery Court |
| Case search fields behind PAMEC login | Login | Yes | Likely name, case number, and date fields; exact labels are not visible without an account |
| In-person clerk search | Written or verbal | Varies | Provide the decedent or ward name, an approximate date, a case number if known, and the copy type wanted |
A basic probate search follows a short path.
- Decide whether the matter is an estate, a will, a guardianship, a conservatorship, or a minor settlement.
- Open the MEC selector, choose Webster County Chancery Court, and register for PAMEC if you need remote access.
- Search by the decedent or ward name, or by case number when you have one.
- If the file is restricted from remote view, call or visit the Chancery Clerk to confirm it exists.
- Ask the clerk for an in-person inspection, a plain copy, or a certified copy of the documents you need.
Note: A guardianship or conservatorship case may appear in the court index yet stay closed to remote view, so plan a clerk visit for sensitive Webster County probate files.
Webster County Chancery Clerk Office
Probate files in Webster County route to the Chancery Clerk. Michael L. Kolb has served as Chancery Clerk since 2024. The office is the custodian of land records, clerk of Chancery Court, clerk of the Board of Supervisors, and the county's treasurer and collector of delinquent real estate taxes. Deputy clerks Mo Sims, Christina Faulkner, and Jordan Russell handle counter requests.
Webster County Chancery Clerk
Clerk: Michael L. Kolb
6333 MS Hwy 9, Suite 123
Walthall, MS 39771
(662) 258-4131
Fax: (662) 258-9635
The county's full Chancery Clerk profile covers land recording, board minutes, and the office's other duties beyond probate.
Probate Filing and Copy Fees
Webster County does not publish a single probate filing fee online. Estate and guardianship costs depend on the type of administration, so the Chancery Clerk confirms them case by case. The fees that are posted cover recording and online viewing rather than the petition itself.
The Chancery Clerk links a recording fees schedule for land documents, which matters because estates often record deeds and other instruments. For online viewing, the statewide MEC system charges a flat registration fee plus a per-page rate.
| Item | Amount |
|---|---|
| PAMEC annual registration | $10.00 |
| PAMEC document viewing | $0.20 per page |
| Recording fees for land documents | See the Chancery Clerk schedule |
| Probate or guardianship filing | Confirm with the Chancery Clerk |
What Webster County Probate Records Show
A Webster County probate file reads like a timeline of an estate. It names the decedent, the court, and the people involved, then tracks each step the court took.
Party names cover the estate, the executor or administrator, the heirs, and any ward or guardian. The file shows the filing date, the case type, the judge, and the hearing dates. Inside sit the petitions, orders, letters, inventories, accountings, creditor notices, and the final decree. Financial entries can include filing costs, bond amounts, and the value of estate property.
Older or sealed parts may not appear online. The clerk can pull those from the court's books.
Land Records Tied to Webster County Estates
Estates and land go together in Webster County. The Chancery Clerk is the county's land-records custodian, so a deed, a will, and an estate file can all point to the same parcel. When an estate holds real property, the title work runs through the same office that keeps the probate file. A separate land redemption inquiry also covers delinquent taxes that may cloud an estate's land.
The county links a land-records inquiry hosted by Delta Computer Systems for deeds and related documents.
Webster County notes that this land-record access is subscription based or pay per document, not a free public search. Estate work still leans on it for chain-of-title detail.
Property taxes and the land roll sit in a second county tool. An estate often needs the tax status of a parcel before it can be sold or divided among heirs.
The official property tax and land-roll inquiry returns tax records and property cards for county parcels.
Those tax records help confirm ownership and value when an estate moves real property to heirs.
A map view rounds out the picture. Parcel boundaries and ownership help match an estate to the right piece of ground.
The county cautions that the map data is provisional, so verify any detail with the clerk before relying on it.
Note: The land tools and the delinquent-tax inquiry are separate from the court case search, so an estate may require both a probate file and a land-record lookup.
Restricted Webster County Probate Records
Remote access has limits. The 2025 statewide Judiciary notice bars online viewing for conservatorship, guardianship, minor's settlement, and sealed files. Several other family case types, including divorce and child custody, are blocked the same way. Because Chancery Court handles so many of those matters, a Webster County probate search often runs into a closed file.
When a file is restricted, the courthouse public terminal or the clerk counter is the practical fallback. Party status, an attorney, or a court order may be needed to see sensitive papers. Divorce records sit under the same restrictions, since they share the Chancery docket with probate. The county's marriage and divorce records guidance covers those access limits in more detail.
Older Webster County Probate Books
Not every probate record is digital. Older estates may sit in Chancery minute books, will books, or scanned files rather than the online system. The clerk can search those by name and approximate date.
Webster County's record history carries a hard chapter. The historic courthouse in Walthall burned in January 2013, and county offices ran from temporary space in Eupora for more than six years. Chancery Court used Eupora's municipal courtroom during that stretch. Offices moved into the new courthouse on Highway 9 in 2019. That long disruption is worth keeping in mind when an older estate file proves hard to locate.
For files from those years, a phone call to the clerk saves time.
Note: Estates predating full electronic filing may exist only on paper, so ask the Chancery Clerk to check the court's books for an older Webster County probate record.