Wills are "administrative documents recording the intentions and wishes of an individual in relation to the disposal of their assets..." in order to "facilitate the settlement of an individual's personal estate following their death." Wills are useful to the historian as they can help establish and explain an individual's family relationships, friendship and business networks, the status of the person writing the will, their property and assets and how their estate is to be divided. Witnesses and executors are also mentioned. Where no will is made, then Letters of Administration may be granted by a registry or court who will appoint appropriate people to deal with a deceased person's estate "where property will pass under intestacy rules or where there are no executors living having been validly appointed under the deceased's will." These are very simplistic explanations and there may be other rules and different courts and localisms throughout England. As these documents relate to assets and property, poorer members of the community are not usually well represented.   

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A Probate Inventory is a listing of a deceased person's moveable assets, monies and debts owed to them undertaken by the executor(s), administrator(s) and others which shows the extent of the deceased's estate. Once assessed, the debts of the deceased estate could be settled. These are different to Probate Accounts which "were the final process an executor or administrator was required to complete, and should clearly account for all the goods and debts received and all the debts and legacies paid and expenses incurred during the winding up of the deceased’s estate, recording a final balance. As such, they were required from both the executors of persons leaving a will and from the administrators of intestates." Further information click here​

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Up until 1858, wills and administrations and subsequent probate were normally handled by the ecclesiastical authorities in the diocese in which the deceased lived or died in. In Sileby this would have been Lincoln Diocese or after 1837 at Peterborough. However, Leicestershire testamentary business was generally dealt with at archdeaconry level in Leicester. Most Sileby wills were proved in the Leicester ecclesiastical courts although one or two were proved at Lincoln. If a person died owning property that extended over multiple diocesan areas then their will may have been proved at a senior ecclesiastical court, in this case, the Prerogative Court at Canterbury. Hence there are around 30 wills proved for Sileby inhabitants from this source. 

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In 1858 a Principal Probate Registry was established in London and a number of district probate registries were created around the country to oversee all grants of probate and letters of administration.