Probate
The court-supervised process of administering a deceased person's estate.
Probate is the legal process by which a deceased person's will is validated and their estate administered: appointing a personal representative, inventorying assets, paying debts and taxes, and distributing what remains to beneficiaries. Intestate estates (no will) follow the state's succession statute.
Probate is a core estate-planning workflow and is governed by state-specific deadlines.