Q: Dad passed, left accounts as payable on death to me, his sole heir. One bank is requiring a short form (don't have yet).

A: It appears, from your post, that your are both the sole heir and the named Executor in the Will. As a matter of practice, it is always best that the named Executor/Executrix have the original, or a duplicate original, of the Will, inasmuch as it is the named personal rep who is responsible for submitting the Will to probate. You have encountered just one of the pitfalls of the lawyer retaining the original Will.

It's routine for a PA Register of Wills to reject a mere copy, as they desire the original Will to be admitted to probate. The passing of your father's lawyer should be a mere inconvenience. Make it a priority to engage with whomever succeeds the deceased lawyer (lawyer succession is a hot topic currently with the PA Bar Institute). It sometimes happens that a copy of a will is presented for probate, in lieu of a "lost" original will. You will most probably need a lawyer to present that copy for probate, but in your case, that should not encounter objections.

Once you have the original Will, assuming that it is "self-proving", i.e., duly signed, witnessed by two disconnected persons, and notarized, the Probate Clerk should admit that Will and immediately swear you in as the official personal representative, and provide you with several "short form" letters of administration, proving your authority to deal with banks, credit unions, etc.

The Estate is expected to submit a preliminary tax return (the PA Dept. of Revenue wants its money quickly), within a few months of the opening of the estate. In addition, income tax returns to both PA state and the Feds need to be filed as final returns.

A: Just a P.S. Financial accounts, whether at financial institutions, insurance companies, brokerage houses, or the like, can be contractually required to make payments to a named, authorized joint account holder (right of survivorship) or other designee. The requirement of a short form by your dad's financial institution may be an unnecessary request, if that insitution holds the required paperwork in-house to make prompt payment to you as a designee. OTOH, I have, for decades, represented financial instiutions with this recurring issue, and have counseled them; the institution doesn't want to be a named defendant is some suit by a possible lega heir of the deceased for having paid money to the wrong person.

A: if all of the accounts are POD or TOD or have named beneficiaries, then there is no need for you to probate Will and get Short Certificate.

if your father forgot to designate a POD or TOD or Beneficiary on one of the accounts you may still be able to avoid probate if the amount in that account is $12,000 or less. bank should release that to you as long as you can show that the funeral was paid for, or that you will use that money to pay the funeral.

if you are talking about the discount for PA Inheritance Tax if make a payment within 90 days, if you don't need the cash in this particular account you can use other funds to make the payment and you need only estimate the amount in that account if the bank will not give you a date of death balance and you do not have copies of the bank statement for the month that your father passed away