Probate

• Probate is the administration of a deceased person's estate, under the direction of a probate judge. Probate is a specialized legal process closely regulated by state statute. Many states follow that Uniform Probate Code, with some slight variations from state to state. Generally, probate is necessary before any surviving heirs can recover from state. Probate can take anywhere from a matter of weeks up to several years.
  
  

Personal Representative

• A person named or appointed as a personal representative, or sometimes called an estate executor, will carry out the administrative aspects of probate. The deceased person's will should identify the personal representative, but if not, the probate judge has authority to appoint a personal representative. Similarly, if the deceased had no will, the probate judge will have to appoint a relative, attorney, or other trusted individual to act as the personal representative. The personal representative has authority to sign legal documents transferring property out of the estate and to the surviving heirs.
  
  

Will and Testatement

• Under a best-case scenario, the deceased created and signed a will before passing away. The provisions of the will govern all recovery from the estate. As long as the will is not ambiguous, probate is a relatively simple and smooth process, with the personal representative simply transferring property out of the estate according to the instructions in the will. If the will is ambiguous, however, or if a surviving heir challenges the validity of the will, probate can become a messy headache.
  
  

Intestacy

• If the deceased passed away without ever signing a valid will, they are said to have died "intestate," and state laws of intestacy will govern all recoveries from the estate. This means that the personal representative will distribute recoveries from the estate according to standard provisions of state law, rather than according to the direction of the deceased. Intestacy probate generally runs quickly and smoothly because nobody can really mount a challenge to a distribution made according to standard state law.