probate
n. uncountablen. the official process of proving that a dead person's will is real and legal. It also involves dealing with their money and property after they die.
n. the legal process through which a testamentary document is authenticated and the estate of a deceased person is administered. Often used in the context of settling debts and distributing assets to beneficiaries.
The family is waiting for probate to be finished.
After her father passed away, she had to apply for probate before she could sell his house.
The executor of the estate spent several months navigating the complexities of probate, ensuring that all creditors were paid before the remaining inheritance was distributed among the heirs.
From Middle English probate, from Latin probatus, past participle of probare (“to test, examine, judge of”); see probe, prove.
Often appears in the phrase 'grant of probate' or 'to go through probate'.