Scott County Probate Court
Probate in Scott County is assigned to Associate Circuit Court, Division 4, Probate. The local court page identifies Judge Blake Pearson as the Division 4 probate judge. The probate office mailing address is P.O. Box 587, Benton, Missouri 63736. The phone number is 573-545-3511, and the fax number is 573-545-3685. Office hours are Monday through Friday, 8:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. The office is on the second floor of the Scott County Courthouse, last office on the right.
The State Court Structure Map resolves the court name as Probate Division of the Circuit Court. That name matters because Scott County probate records are part of the 33rd Judicial Circuit and the Missouri Circuit Court system. The probate division is not a separate surrogate court, orphans court, or county probate office. The Circuit Clerk remains a key records channel for copies and mail requests.
Associate Circuit Court - Division 4 - Probate
Judge: Blake Pearson
P.O. Box 587
Benton, MO 63736
573-545-3511
Fax: 573-545-3685
Monday-Friday, 8:00 a.m.-4:30 p.m.
The Scott County courts page is the local source for the probate division, judicial officers, and division contact details.
The county courts page confirms that probate is one part of the local 33rd Judicial Circuit structure.
Scott County Probate Matters
Probate covers court files tied to estates, wills, decedents' property, guardianships, conservatorships, minor estates, fiduciary appointments, inventories, accountings, and orders. A public estate case can show who opened the matter, whether a personal representative was appointed, what filings were made, and whether the case has closed. Guardianship and conservatorship cases can involve a living ward or protected person and often contain more sensitive information.
Probate records can be useful for heirs, creditors, title research, family history, fiduciaries, and people checking whether a will or estate case has been opened. Still, the public file may not include every medical, financial, or minor-related document. Sensitive reports and identifying details may be redacted or blocked under Missouri access rules and court orders.
- Testator
- A person who made a will.
- Executor
- A person named to carry out a will, often called a personal representative after appointment.
- Intestate
- Dying without a will that controls the estate.
- Guardian
- A court-appointed person who makes personal decisions for a minor or incapacitated person.
- Conservator
- A court-appointed person who manages a protected person's money or property.
- Fiduciary
- A person with a legal duty to act for another person or estate.
Search Scott County Probate Records
The first online channel is Missouri Case.net. Search by case number when known, or use a litigant or party name when the case number is unknown. For a local probate search, filter to Scott County or the 33rd Judicial Circuit and use probate case type filters when the portal offers them. Scott County's Circuit Clerk guidance states that searching within the 33rd Circuit shows real-time data after clerk entry, while all-circuit statewide searches can lag up to three hours.
Remote public documents have an important date limit. Scott County states remote public access began July 1, 2023, for public court documents filed on or after that date. Older public probate documents, certified copies, and records not visible online may require the Circuit Clerk's record request process or courthouse access. Probate matters that include confidential medical or protected-person details may not display like ordinary public cases.
- Open Case.net and search by exact probate case number if it is known.
- If the case number is unknown, search by decedent, ward, protected person, applicant, petitioner, or fiduciary name.
- Filter to Scott County or the 33rd Judicial Circuit to reduce false matches.
- Review the case header, division, parties, docket entries, hearings, and public document links.
- Use the Circuit Clerk request form or probate division phone line when older documents, certified copies, or restricted access questions remain.
The Missouri juvenile access statute is relevant when probate-adjacent records involve minors or juvenile files.
Minor-related probate and guardianship matters can be more restricted than a routine decedent estate because Missouri law protects certain juvenile and confidential files.
Scott County Probate Access
Scott County probate access has four main channels. Case.net is the online search point for public case data. The probate division phone line, 573-545-3511, is the direct local contact for Division 4. The Circuit Clerk, 573-545-3596, is the public case-record clerk for circuit-court filings and record requests. Mail requests use P.O. Box 587, Benton, MO 63736, and the Circuit Clerk record request form is the route for copies when the desired document is not available online.
Older probate files may require an in-person or clerk-assisted search. The Recorder of Deeds preserves separate historical and genealogical records, including land transfers and marriage licenses, but estate court files remain court records. That distinction is useful for family-history searches because a person may need both a Recorder record and a probate case file to reconstruct property or family events.
| Channel | Use It For | Contact or Source |
|---|---|---|
| Case.net | Public probate case search, docket entries, hearing dates, public documents after the remote-access date | Missouri Case.net |
| Probate Division | Division-specific probate questions and local probate office contact | 573-545-3511 |
| Circuit Clerk | Copies, certified records, mail requests, and case-record handling | 573-545-3596; P.O. Box 587 |
| In person | Older files, courthouse-only documents, and access questions | Scott County Courthouse / court campus in Benton |
Note: Have the case number when contacting the Circuit Clerk because Scott County repeatedly tells users to include it on calls, filings, mail, and payments.
Scott County Probate Fields
A public probate case record can show a compact case header plus a long docket history. The exact display depends on the case type and access status. Estate cases often use decedent and personal representative terms. Guardianship and conservatorship cases can use ward, protected person, guardian, and conservator labels.
| Field | What It Shows |
|---|---|
| Case number | The unique Missouri circuit-court case number used for lookup and clerk requests. |
| Name field | Decedent, ward, protected person, applicant, petitioner, or fiduciary name. |
| Case type | Estate, guardianship, conservatorship, minor matter, or related probate case type. |
| Judge or division | The assigned division, such as Associate Circuit Court Division 4 - Probate. |
| Fiduciary | Personal representative, guardian, conservator, or other appointed person. |
| Docket entries | Petitions, hearings, notices, letters, bond, inventory, claims, accountings, orders, and closing entries. |
| Documents | Public documents when remotely available, with confidential or older documents requiring a separate request. |
Scott County Public Administrator
The county Public Administrator can become part of a probate matter when no suitable private fiduciary is available. The Public Administrator office is listed at P.O. Box 70, Benton, MO 63736, with phone number 573-545-3084. That role may appear in guardianship, conservatorship, and estate cases when the court appoints a public fiduciary.
The Public Administrator is not the probate court and does not replace the Circuit Clerk as records custodian. Instead, the office may be a party or appointed fiduciary within the probate case. Search the probate case record first, then contact the probate division or Circuit Clerk if the appointment order, letters, accounting, or closing document is needed.
Scott County Probate Fees
The available official material did not provide a fully readable probate-specific fee schedule. For that reason, no unverified estate-opening, letters, guardianship, or conservatorship fee is stated here. The verified fee amounts below are related circuit-court or copy amounts that may matter in probate-adjacent requests, but a current probate filing quote should be confirmed with the probate division or Circuit Clerk before filing.
| Researched Item | Amount |
|---|---|
| Circuit Clerk record request copy fee | $5.00 before records are received |
| Adoption filing | $180.50 |
| Name change filing | $130.50 |
| Domestic filing | $132.50 |
| Circuit civil filing | $100.00 in the updated fee PDF noted by the research |
The Missouri adoption-record statute is relevant because adoption records have special disclosure procedures and are not ordinary probate or family records.
Adoption-related records require special care because Missouri law treats their disclosure differently from ordinary estate case files.
Restricted Scott County Probate
Public probate records are not the same as unrestricted records. Guardianship, conservatorship, adoption, juvenile, and mental-health-related filings can contain medical reports, financial account details, confidential addresses, minor information, psychological evaluations, social histories, home studies, or protected-person reports. Those materials may be closed, redacted, or available only to people with legal authority or court permission.
Scott County's remote public access notice also matters for probate filings. Public documents filed on or after July 1, 2023 may be viewable remotely when not confidential, but filings with confidential information must be redacted and accompanied by the required redaction certification. Older documents may require courthouse access or a clerk request.
The Eastern District of Missouri bankruptcy court PACER lookup is a separate federal source, not a Scott County probate index.
Bankruptcy and probate can both involve debt and property, but they are separate court systems with different records and access rules.
Scott County Probate Process
A typical probate matter starts by identifying whether there is a will and whether assets require court authority. The appropriate petition or application is filed with the Scott County Circuit Clerk or probate division. If the court appoints a personal representative, guardian, or conservator, letters or appointment orders may issue. The fiduciary then handles notice, inventory, claims, accountings, hearings, and closing documents as required by the court.
Contested wills, real-estate sales, missing heirs, creditor disputes, guardianship capacity issues, and incomplete accountings can lengthen a probate case. Case.net can help track public docket activity, but the probate division or Circuit Clerk is the better channel for certified copies, older documents, and questions about what can be released.