probate legal definition
Duhaime's Law Dictionary. Probate Definition: The formal certificate given by a court that certifies that a will has been proven, validated and registered and which, from that point on, gives the executor the legal authority to execute the will. The legal procedure to validate a will and formally confirm the appointment of the executor. Latin from probatum which means a thing proved. In use in the common law since at least 1463 (Bury Wills, Camden), referring to the proving of a will and the formal vesting of estate administration authority in an executor.