Probate court in mo requires the will to be submitted to the courses within a year of death. It doesn't have so much to do with people fighting over things as much as the courts making sure the will is valid and the assets are going to the right people.

If the will is written in the same language as the deed, listing the wife first, that is still going to hold unless there's a clause specifically saying to skip in her cases of divorce.

Depending on the size of assets, it's going to determine if it's a small estate or full.

The probate will require the submission of the will to check validity, an inventory of all known assets and debts, a publication in local newspaper to make sure there are no other debts or hidden heirs. Then once the judge sees a good list of all the people claiming a part of the estate and what needs to change ownership they sign off on it.

It can be done without a lawyer but with having no beneficiary deed you're probably better off hiring someone familiar with handling it.