Catherina Celosse, Register of Wills

The Register of Wills/Orphan’s Court in many ways the office is a conduit, between persons in Lancaster needing services, and the paperwork to complete a public, legal action such as probate (transfer of assets from a deceased person), payment of state inheritance tax (Pennsylvania is one of a few states with inheritance tax), marriage licenses, filings for matters related to adoption, parental rights and guardianship, with the responsibility to administer public records of such matters.

By doing the job transparently with access and outreach, the office can promote and identify trends and areas of need for the community at large.

Probate records are maintained, but in the 21st century, can be so much better.

Imagine customer services apps (like a progress bar or text reminders) to track your case. And yearly reports and analysis on the aggregate data: how many homes in probate were sold by a family to pay the tax instead of staying in the neighborhood? How many adult guardians were appointed? What are the trends?

Looking to our neighbors, Dauphin County was the first in Pennsylvania to implement virtual marriage licenses and probates. Dauphin and Delaware County make access easy to state-sponsored online training and resources for the Guardianship Tracking System.

Listen and improve your experience, through customer surveys, round tables and other outreach. Where are the slowdowns to complete the procedures?

Promote data transparency and analysis. Let’s use 21st century tools to ensure that Lancaster County residents are prepared for inheritance tax. Let’s analyze the data and trends in our county to ensure that families keep their homes and people stay in their communities.