What do you normally expect your bank to obtain to authorize an individual to open an account in the name of an estate?

Thanks.

Copy of death certificate, court order/letters testamentary appointing the personal representative, and identification of the personal representative.

(I suppose if we have the letters testamentary, the death certificate may be overkill - ha ha, no pun intended - but it somehow seems wrong not to get it.)

Would you think the court order alone is insufficient?

Off the top of my head, I can't think why the court order wouldn't be sufficient - if there's an order appointing a p.r. for an estate, then the decedent must have died!

So for that reason, I wouldn't jump up and down about not having the death certificate.

Don't forget to check the date that the letters were certified. We require Letters to be certified within the last 60 days. Remember - Personal Representative designations sometimes change.