When most individuals create their wills or estate plans, they include their preferred choice of personal representative. This is the person who will initiate probate proceedings on behalf of the deceased. They have a legal duty to faithfully execute the instructions left for them in the deceased’s will or estate plan. If the deceased had no will or did not name a personal representative, the responsibilities of a personal representative typically fall to the spouse or a close relative if the deceased was unmarried. Anyone who has a valid claim to any part of the deceased’s estate has the ability to start the probate process.