Probate records are 'Confirmations' in Scotland.

Good online background information about this subject can be found at the Scottish Archive Network (SCAN) Knowledge Base, in the National Records of Scotland online guides, and on the Scotland's People website.

Prior to 1826, most Wigtownshire testaments will be found in either the Wigtown Commissariot (CC22) or the Edinburgh Commissariot (CC8) records. These records are held at the National Records of Scotland. Printed indexes to some of these records up to 1800 were published by the Scottish Record Society and can be read online at the Open Library; the Wigtownshire pages also have a transcript of the Commissariot Record of Wigtown Testaments 1700-1800 (covering some of the names in CC22/3). Indexes to all the testaments are now available on the Scotland's People website which has a searchable index to Scottish Wills and Testaments from 1513 - 1925, comprising over 878,000 names of 'defuncts'. The indexes may be searched free, and copies of the documents may be viewed and purchased. The earliest testaments available for Wigtownshire date from 1700. The Scotland's People website has indexes to the Wigtown Commissary Court, 1700-1826 (ref. CC22/3/1-6) and the Edinburgh Commissary Court, 1514-1829 (ref. CC8/8/1-152 and CC8/11/1-6).

The LDS have filmed the following records which may be consulted at LDS Family History Centres.
LDS Library Film Numbers:

231254	Wigtown Commissary Court	Warrants of Testaments, v.1-2, 1641-1731	Original documents: National Records of Scotland - CC22/3/1,2
231255	Warrants of Testaments, v.2, 1732-1745	Original documents: National Records of Scotland - CC22/3/2
231256	Warrants of Testaments, v.2-3,1746-1764	Original documents: National Records of Scotland - CC22/3/2,3
231257	Warrants of Testaments, v.3-4, 1751-1789	Original documents: National Records of Scotland - CC22/3/3,4
231258	Warrants of Testaments, v.4-5, 1789-1809	Original documents: National Records of Scotland - CC22/3/4,5
304674	Warrants of Testaments, v.5-6, 1806-1823	Original documents: National Records of Scotland - CC22/3/5,6

(Data provided by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints)

From 1826, commissary court business was conducted by the Wigtown Sheriff Court (SC19), and also by the Edinburgh Sheriff Court (SC70). These records are also held at the National Records of Scotland. On the Scotland's People website are entries from the Registers of inventories and settlements (wills) up to 1875, and, from 1876 - 1925, entries in the printed Calendar of Confirmations. Ancestry has the Calendar of Confirmations from 1876 - 1936. There are no online indexes for wills, testaments or confirmations after 1936. The Scotland's People website has indexes to Wigtown Sheriff Court Commissary Records, 1826-1925 (ref. SC19/41/1-34); Edinburgh Sheriff Court Inventories, 1808-1925 (ref. SC70/1/1-741) and Edinburgh Sheriff Court Wills, 1855-1925 (ref. SC70/4/1-595).

More information on Wigtown Sheriff Court and Wigtown Commissary Court records here.

The Scotland's People website also has records of Non-Scottish Courts, 1858-1900 (ref. SC70/6/1-83) which includes testaments relating to Scots who died in England and other foreign countries.

The wills of some Scottish soldiers and airmen, 1857 -1964, are held by the National Records of Scotland.

Scots who owned goods or investments in England were supposed to have their wills proved in England as well as Scotland. Wills proved before 1858 at the Prerogative Court of Canterbury are held at The National Archives, Kew. There are also has a few Scots listed in the Death Duty registers.
From 1858, the annual National Probate Calendars need to be consulted - wills and other probate materials for England and Wales for the period from 1858-1996, 1996 to present, and soldiers wills can be searched at the probate search service. There are also copies of the calendars for 1858-1966 at Ancestry.co.uk, and for 1858-1959 at findmypast.co.uk.

Many wills can be found in the collections of Deeds deposited in various courts. Worth searching for Wigtownshire are the Wigtown Sheriff Court Registers of Deeds held by the National Records of Scotland.

Services of Heirs: see Land and Property above.

• A searchable index to Scottish Wills & Testaments from 1500-1901, comprising over 500,000 names, is now available online at ScotlandsPeople.
• Most records of wills and inventories are held in The National Archives of Scotland in Edinburgh. Many published indexes can be consulted in local libraries in Scotland, and also through LDS Family History Centres around the world.

• Post-1858 wills: copies can be ordered from the Probate Service or from UKDocuments for a  fee.
• Pre-1858 Wills: administrations and other probate records will be found in the Record Office holding the documents of the ecclesiastical (church) court where the will was proved.
• For English and Welsh records see TNA Leaflet: Will and Probate Records. Scottish testamentary records are held at the National Archives of Scotland in Edinburgh.
• Copies of wills proved in the Prerogative Court of Canterbury can be obtained for a fee from the National Archives via their Wills 1384-1858 page.
• Official search facility for finding the will of a soldier who died while serving in the British armed forces between 1850 and 1986.
• Tom's Wills - the index to UK wills 1931-1949.