probate

meaning in plain English

The court process that checks if a will is real and follows the law before giving out the person’s belongings.

for example

After their uncle died, the family had to wait months for the will to go through probate before they could get their share of the money.

Imagine someone leaves a note saying who gets their stuff when they die. Probate is the step where the court makes sure that note is real and fair before anyone can take what was promised. Without probate, there’d be no way to prove who really gets what.