Short answer. Any executor, devisee, or legatee named in the will, or any other person interested in the estate, may petition after the testator's death, whether or not the will is in their possession. The testator can also petition to have their own will allowed during their lifetime.
What the law says
Any executor, devisee, or legatee named in a will, or any other person interested in the estate, may, at any time after the death of the testator, petition the court having jurisdiction to have the will allowed, whether the same be in his possession or not, or is lost or destroyed. The testator himself may, during his lifetime, petition the court for the allowance of his will.
Rule 76, Section 1 — Who may petition for the allowance of will. Read the full provision →
The class of eligible petitioners after death is broad
The rule names any executor, devisee, or legatee named in a will, or any other person interested in the estate as eligible to petition. This is a deliberately wide category — it is not limited to whoever happens to be holding the physical document, but extends to anyone with a genuine stake in how the estate is ultimately settled and distributed.
Possessing the will is not a precondition
A petitioner does not need to have the will in hand to start the process. The rule allows the petition whether the same be in his possession or not, or is lost or destroyed. Someone who knows a will exists, and has a genuine interest in the estate, can petition for its allowance even without physical custody of the document itself, or even any copy of it.
The testator can petition for allowance during their own lifetime
The rule also allows a living testator to act: the testator himself may, during his lifetime, petition the court for the allowance of his will. This lets a person have their own will judicially confirmed while they are still alive, rather than leaving that important legal determination entirely to whoever happens to petition later, following their own eventual death.
A testator who takes this route settles questions of validity early, rather than leaving them to be contested for the first time after death.
Why this broad standing matters
Because the class of eligible petitioners is broad, an estate's settlement does not depend on any single person taking the initiative — an heir, a named beneficiary, a creditor with an interest in the estate, or the executor can each independently start the probate process. This prevents a will from going unprobated simply because the person who happens to hold it is unwilling or unable to act on it.