Can I handle a letter of testamentary myself or do I have to get an attorney. Can't I get a probate judge to sign it and pay to have it filled?

You must be represented by an attorney.  The purpose of probate is to prove that the Will is the Will of the person who died or, if there is no Will, that the heirs whom the applicant names are the heirs and the only heirs.  Additional steps are required to protect Will beneficiaries or heirs and creditors.  You cannot simply buttonhole a probate judge and ask him to sign something.  That would be opening the door to fraud. However, if your father left very little, you may be able to file a Small Estate Affidavit.  Here, too, you are advised to hire an attorney.  These documents are not as simple and straightforward as you may imagine. If your father only left a bank account and left very little in it, you may be better off letting it go to unclaimed property and, after four years, trying to get it from the State Comptroller.