Fountain of Knowledge

Is anyone familair with the administration/whatever it's called of a will after the writer dies? I've seen countless TV shows and cartoons where everyone gathers in a room and either the will is read, or a video plays on the TV, or something similar, and the main character says "What, I've inherited ... ? No way!"

However, common sense tells me this isn't how estate administration actually works.

When someone passes away, and has left a real will behind, how is it handled? How are the benefactors notified? How are things disbursed? What are the real terms for these things?

If you can't tell, one of my characters is leaving people things in her will, so I'm curious about the process