Butte County Probate Records Venue
Probate in Butte County is not handled by a separate standalone probate court. The research identifies the probate venue as the Idaho District Court / Magistrate Division at the Butte County Courthouse, 326 W. Grand Ave., Arco, ID 83213. The court mailing address is P.O. Box 171, Arco, ID 83213, and the main court phone is (208) 527-8259. The same courthouse handles trial-court functions for probate, guardianship, conservatorship, civil, criminal, family, traffic, juvenile, small claims, and protection-order matters filed in Butte County.
That court structure affects how Butte County probate records are searched. Public case status may appear in the statewide Idaho iCourt Portal, but the Judicial Branch says records from a court case are obtained through a county courthouse kiosk or by submitting a request to the clerk's office where the case was filed. For probate copies, a person should be ready with the decedent name, case number if known, personal representative name, or guardianship/conservatorship party name. For county recorder or marriage records, use the Butte County Clerk / Auditor / Recorder, but probate case documents stay with the court.
Butte County District Court / Magistrate Division
326 W. Grand Ave.
P.O. Box 171
Arco, ID 83213
(208) 527-8259
Court counter hours were not separately published in the captured official sources.
Butte County Probate Terms
Probate records use terms that can look formal even when the task is simple. In Butte County, the same words may appear in iCourt entries, petitions, notices, orders, and copy requests. A short definition check helps keep an estate record separate from a guardianship record, a small-estate affidavit, or a conservatorship filing.
- Testator
- The person who made a will.
- Executor
- The person named to carry out a will. Idaho filings may also use personal representative.
- Intestate
- Dying without a will, which may require estate handling under Idaho probate rules.
- Guardianship
- A court case about personal care or decision-making for a minor or incapacitated adult.
- Conservatorship
- A court case about managing another person's money or property under court authority.
- Small-estate affidavit
- A statutory affidavit process for certain personal property when Idaho conditions are met.
The Idaho Court Assistance Office forms page is the official statewide forms source listed in the research.
For Butte County probate records, the statewide forms page helps identify official filing resources, while local filing still occurs through the Butte County court.
Search Butte County Probate Records
The main online route for Butte County probate records is the Idaho iCourt Portal. Smart Search may locate public probate case status by decedent name, party name, personal representative, guardian, conservator, or case number if the matter is public. Search Hearings can help locate hearing information by date range. The portal is not a complete document-copy system for every public filing, and sealed or exempt records do not appear in public results.
| Field Label | Type | Required | Options / Format Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Smart Search | Text search | Unspecified | Use decedent name, personal representative name, guardian name, conservator name, or case number. |
| Case Number | Text | Optional | Best if available from notices, prior filings, or an attorney. |
| Party Name | Text | Optional | May include decedent, petitioner, respondent, guardian, conservator, or personal representative. |
| Search Hearings | Date range | Optional | Use for probate, guardianship, or conservatorship hearing dates when public. |
- Start with iCourt Smart Search and use the strongest identifier available, such as a case number or decedent name.
- Confirm that the result is tied to Butte County or the Seventh Judicial District before relying on the case status.
- Use Search Hearings when the question is about a scheduled probate, guardianship, or conservatorship hearing.
- For filings, orders, inventories, accountings, or certified copies, contact the Butte County court clerk or use a courthouse kiosk.
- Expect restricted access for sealed matters, minor data, medical information, and many guardianship or conservatorship filings.
Butte County Guardianship Records
Guardianship and conservatorship are probate-related court matters, but they are not the same as routine estate administration. The Idaho Judicial Branch provides guardianship and conservatorship forms, reports, complaint resources, annual status report material, accounting/report forms, and guided filing for minor guardianship. Butte County filings use the local court, but the forms and many process resources come from the statewide Court Assistance Office.
The Idaho guardianship and conservatorship forms page is the source captured for those probate-related filings.
Those forms can support a Butte County guardianship filing, but public access to the resulting probate records may be narrower than access to estate case metadata.
Idaho Court Administrative Rule 32 restricts many guardianship and conservatorship records except to interested persons, guardians ad litem, court visitors, monitoring entities, and attorneys for those people. Some orders may remain public, but medical, financial, minor, and incapacity details can be withheld or redacted. A public iCourt search should not be expected to expose the full case file.
Note: Guardianship records are probate records, but many details are restricted because the cases often involve minors, incapacity, health, or finances.
Butte County Small Estate Details
Idaho Code section 15-3-1201 allows collection of certain personal property by affidavit after 30 days when statutory conditions are met. The research stresses a key limit: the affidavit is for personal property and debts owed to the decedent, and it should not be described as a universal real-estate transfer. If an estate involves real property, a surviving spouse as sole beneficiary, creditor disputes, or more complex estate facts, another Idaho Probate Code process may apply.
The Idaho small-estate affidavit statute is the official statutory source assigned for Butte County probate records.
The small-estate affidavit can be useful in a narrow Butte County probate situation, but it does not replace court probate for every estate.
Small-estate limit: The research confirms the 30-day timing point, but it does not provide a Butte-specific form or local filing fee.
Butte County Probate Fees
The official Butte County probate research did not locate a local probate fee schedule, a certified-copy amount, or a small-estate filing amount. Because no Butte-specific court copy or probate filing fee was found in the captured sources, the page should not publish guessed amounts. For a filing or copy request, call the court clerk at (208) 527-8259 before mailing documents or appearing at the courthouse.
| Item | Fee | Source Note |
|---|---|---|
| Probate case filing | Fee not located in official Butte County sources | Verify with Butte County court clerk. |
| Certified copy from court file | Fee not located in official Butte County sources | Call before requesting certified orders or letters. |
| Small-estate affidavit filing | Fee not located in official Butte County sources | Confirm whether filing is needed for the specific task. |
| Guardianship / conservatorship filing | Fee not located in official Butte County sources | Use the court clerk and official forms. |
| Court document physical mail service, standard envelope 1-4 pages | $1.05 | Statewide Court Assistance Office notice in research. |
| Large envelope 5-9 pages | $2.40 | Statewide Court Assistance Office notice in research. |
| Large envelope 10-25 pages | $5.55 | Statewide Court Assistance Office notice in research. |
| Large envelope 26-50 pages | $10.75 | Statewide Court Assistance Office notice in research. |
Butte County Probate Record Limits
Public Butte County probate records may show case number, court location, filing date, party names, case status, hearing dates, and docket events that are not sealed or exempt. Estate files may include wills, petitions, appointments of a personal representative, creditor notices, inventories, accountings, distributions, and orders. A public iCourt result may give enough information to identify the case, but full copies still may require a kiosk or clerk request at the courthouse.
Restricted probate categories include minor information, medical details, sealed filings, adoption-related records, and many guardianship or conservatorship details. Idaho Court Administrative Rule 32 is the main court-record access rule, while general county agency records use Idaho's Public Records Act. A requester seeking a restricted probate document may need to show legal authority, interested-person status, or a court order. For divorce records that overlap with estate or family proof needs, the local divorce decree channel is described with Butte County marriage and divorce records.
Note: Public probate case status is not proof that every document in the Butte County probate file is open to the public.