The short answer to whether probate is a private process is “no.” If privacy is a big issue with you, and you would not want anyone with an interest in what you left to whom following your death, then you will want to make sure you have an estate plan in place, and that your estate plan is built around a living trust—which is not made public upon your death. If you only have a will, then the contents of that will are made public through the probate process. That is not to say the all the contents of your will are published in the local newspaper, only that anyone who wants to know the contents of your will can find out. If you do not have a will or other estate planning document in place at the time of your death, the probate process also makes assets, debts, and beneficiaries public.