The court-supervised process of proving or authenticating a deceased person’s will.

Its purpose is to ensure that the will is the last will and testament of the testator (the person who made the will), and that it contains the most final and genuine expression of their testamentary intentions. The will instructs the person(s) named as executors as to how the testator’s property (their estate) should be disposed of after their death. The persons benefitting from the distribution of property are the beneficiaries. An executor can also be a beneficiary.

Probate must be applied for by or on behalf of the executor(s), who cannot execute the instructions of the testator unless and until they have been granted probate. Certain conditions need to be met in advance, such as the payment of inheritance tax on the basis of a valuation of the estate.

An application must be made in writing to the local probate registry or via the government’s online application portal.