A probate executor is a person named to carry out the final wishes of the deceased and to see the estate through the probate process. In contrast to an administrator who is named by the courts, a probate executor is named by the deceased in their final will and testament. The executor is tasked with the distribution of the estate's property according to the decedent's will, collecting and approving debts and then paying them from the estate's funds, and any other functions the estate requires and which may be precisely defined in the deceased person's will. The probate executor must also make every effort possible to locate all heirs in order to follow letter of the will in its entirety.