re: Do you need a lawyer for probate?

Sorry for your loss. Plenty of decent-human attorneys will handle simple probate for a reasonable cost. It is worth the peace of mind for you & mom not to DIY this matter, and to use the assistance of an attorney. This is a situation where you can truly be penny wise and pound foolish. Talk to your friends & relatives about who is trustworthy in your area, and get a couple of quotes.

I can think of a couple of attorneys (who usually practice in other areas of the law) who handled their own family successions & made expensive errors. Grief can easily cloud your objective thinking, and it is worth a few bucks to have things handled by a third party.