In common law jurisdictions, probate is the judicial process whereby a will is "proved" in a court of law and accepted as a valid public document that is the true last testament of the deceased; or whereby, in the absence of a legal will, the estate is settled according to the laws of intestacy that apply in the jurisdiction where the deceased resided at the time of their death.

The granting of probate is the first step in the legal process of administering the estate of a deceased person, resolving all claims and distributing the deceased person's property under a will. A probate court decides the legal validity of a testator's (deceased person's) will and grants its approval, also known as granting probate, to the executor. The probated will then becomes a legal instrument that may be enforced by the executor in the law courts if necessary. A probate also officially appoints the executor (or personal representative), generally named in the will, as having legal power to dispose of the testator's assets in the manner specified in the testator's will. However, through the probate process, a will may be contested.

An executor is a person appointed by a will to act on behalf of the estate of the will-maker (the "testator") upon his or her death. An executor is the legal personal representative of a deceased person's estate. The appointment of an executor only becomes effective after the death of the testator. After the testator dies, the person named in the will as executor can decline or renounce the position, and if so should quickly notify the probate court accordingly.

Executors "step into the shoes" of the deceased and have similar rights and powers to wind up the personal affairs of the deceased. This may include continuing or filing lawsuits that the deceased was entitled to bring, making claims for wrongful death, paying off creditors, or selling or disposing of assets not particularly gifted in the will, among others. But the role of the executor is to resolve the testator's estate and to distribute the estate to the beneficiaries or those otherwise entitled.

Sometimes, in England and Wales, a professional executor is named in the will – not a family member but (for example) a solicitor, bank or other financial institution. Professional executors will charge the estate for carrying out duties related to the administration of the estate; this can leave the family facing additional costs. It is possible to get a professional executor to renounce their role, meaning they will have no part in dealing with the estate; or to reserve their power, which means the remaining executors will carry out the related duties, but without the involvement of the professional executor.

When a person dies without a will then the legal personal representative is known as the "administrator".

This is commonly the closest relative, although that person can renounce their right to be administrator, in which case the right moves to the next closest relative. This often happens when parents or grandparents are first in line to become the administrator but renounce their rights on the grounds that they are elderly, do not possess knowledge of estate law, or feel that someone else is better suited to the task.^{[citation needed]}

The appointment of an administrator follows a codified list establishing priority appointees. Classes of persons named higher on the list receive priority of appointment to those lower on the list. Although relatives of the deceased frequently receive priority over all others, creditors of the deceased and 'any other citizen [of that jurisdiction]'^{[citation needed]} may act as an administrator if there is some cognizable reason or relationship to the estate. Alternatively, if no other person qualifies or no other person accepts appointment, the court will appoint a representative from the local public administrator's office.