Probate #7491 Estate of Jesus de Soza was filed on January 27, 1939 in the Superior Court of Pima County, Az. Her son Antonio Moreno Soza had been nominated, and was confirmed as the probate administrator.

Recalling that the Court issued an Order Setting Aside The Estate To The Surviving Spouse on March 30, 1937,¹²³ and that in 1915, before Antonio's demise, certain range & other animals and were conveyed and deeded to Jesus by her husband.¹²⁴

Not addressed and left unclear in the above estate planning activities, was the disposition or ownership of the balance acreage. From Probate #7491 Eight Hundred (800) acres, including a 160 acre State Lease, were listed as assets. It is possible that the widow Jesus added to the estate after Antonio's death, under later Public Lands Laws.¹²⁵

Probate #3722, filed ten years after the fact, was further complicated when a title abstract on the ranch properties was authorized and ordered by the Court. The abstract revealed that certain ranch property had been conveyed by Jesus Moreno de Soza to her daughter Mercedes M. Apodaca on May 20, 1932 and recorded on September 6, 1939, or eight months after Jesus's demise.

The estate appraisal submitted to the Court on June 7, 1939, listed 800 acres on the San Pedro River, and Lots 15 & 16, Walker Addition, Benson, plus a promissory note for $1,000.00, for a total estate of $7,600.00. This appraisal came through, although 640 acres had already been conveyed in 1932.¹²⁶

On September 9, 1947, upon Distribution of the Estate to the heirs, Antonio M. Soza was finally discharged from his trust, upon the payment of Distribution. By this time, thirty two years had elapsed since Antonio's death in 1915. The residual assets were exceedingly modest as evidenced by the Court record.

For the reader seeking a complete and more comprehensive insight into Probate #7491, the probate record in the Superior Court of Pima County is the primary source. Otherwise, an abbreviated chronology of Probate #7491 commences on page 107 [in the print edition].

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