Legal Question in Wills and Trusts in Pennsylvania

Re: Short Certificate

If the account is titled as ITF ("in trust for") then all you should need is a death certificate and proof of your identity, as the account passes to you at death, outside the will.

Re: Short Certificate

Sorry for your loss. It appears that no one has advised you regarding probate of your Dad's Will. Without seeing the original, to see if it can be probated easily (if it has a self-proving affidavit attached) or requires a witness to go with you, your requirements are relatively easy. Presuming you are the named Executor, you take the original Will and Death Certificate to the Surrogate's office where your father resided at the time of his death and submit it for probate (forms are completed by a Probate Clerk while you are there) and pay the fees. In time, usually within a week after you appear, you will receive Letters Testimentary (the short forms the bank mentioned) which are evidence of your authority to ack on behalf of the estate. You will need separate forms for each bank, brokerage account, etc. You will also need a federal TIN numnber to open an account in the name of Dad's estate. This can be done on-line, at the IRS website, after you have received your appointment papers from the Surrogate. There is much more you will need to do, too extensive to go into here, to administer his estate, file tax returns (income and possibly estate and/or inheritance) and other activities to carry out the duties of an Executor. I suggest retaining an attorney, like myself, experienced in these matters to assist you, although most of the work you can do yourself, with some guidence. You should only pay for the time he spends on your behalf, but the ease to you, in terms of time, effort and possible frustration (like you just experienced with the bank), makes his fees worthwhile. You do not say what County is involved. Some counties, like Essex, allow most of the work to be done through the mail, others require personal appearances. Contact me directly if you need more assistance.