Last Updated: Oct 13, 2026
Read Time: 2 mins
Transcript:
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So, probate is initiated in the county where the deceased resided at the time of their death. And this is done by filing a petition to open their estate and appoint either an administrator or an executor. Which one is appointed is dependent on whether they have a will or not. Um if you’re asking for the will to be admitted, then your petition would also ask that the will be admitted by the court. And this can be done by admitting it in common form, and it also can be done by asking the court to admit it in
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solemn form. The key difference between those is the notice requirement that’s involved on the front end with an in solemn form. In common form is a more fast, streamlined form of estate administration. It also is subject to more legal challenges because of that. And so, if there is a will, the petition will also need to include the will and the request to admit the will. Alongside that, the courts generally do require the original will to be deposited on the front end when you file the petition.
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Some courts are fine with you bringing the will to the hearing, but at some point when you initiate the probate, that original will, so the one that they signed in front of that attorney with that blue notary stamp, that has to be delivered to the court with your petition.
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