Probate is the process that transfers legal title of property from the estate of the person who has died (the "decedent") to his or her proper beneficiaries. The term "probate" refers to a "proving" of the existence of a valid Will, or determining and "proving" who one's legal heirs are if there is no Will. Since the deceased can't take it with him or her, probate is the process used to determine who gets his or her property.
  
 
Questions often asked by beneficiaries to a Will are:

Do we have to go through probate if there is a will? Why can't we just distribute the assets as the will says?

As a general rule it is necessary to go through probate or, in the case of smaller estates, a less formal procedure that is still under the general supervision of the Probate Division of the Supreme Court of New South Wales, before the deceased's property can be legally distributed. Even if a person dies with a Will (which is known as dying "testate"), the court generally has to have afford an opportunity to allow others to object to the Will, and if there are any objections, to determine if the Will is valid, because it is always possible that

(1) there was a later Will (which, if proved valid, would replace the older Will), or

(2) the Will was made at a time the deceased was not mentally competent to make a Will, or

(3) the Will was the result of fraud, mistake or "undue influence", or

(4) the Will was not properly "executed", or

(5) the so-called Will is actually a forgery, or

(6) for some other reason (such as a pre-existing contract) the Will is not fully valid, or

(7) there are other claims against the deceased's estate that could have an impact on what the beneficiaries under the Will would receive.

For example, if the deceased owned real estate in his own name, no knowledgeable outside person would accept title to the property, and no bank would lend a new buyer mortgage money on it, unless the estate went through probate so "clear title" could be given the new buyer. Similarly, few outsiders would enter into any other transactions involving the deceased's property before the Will is "admitted to probate" and/or someone is lawfully appointed to act for the estate.