Probate is the court-supervised process of settling someone’s estate, including authenticating the person’s will, locating assets, paying creditors, and distributing assets according to the person’s wishes. If property is distributed through a will, or a person dies without a will, then it will be probated. In some cases, individuals will not have to go through probate. This happens when assets are jointly owned, have a designated beneficiary, or are held in a trust.