Register of Wills

The Register of Wills processes all resident decedents' estate & Inheritance Tax receipting/documentation for individuals who are domiciled in Cumberland County at the time of their death. The primary function of the Register is to determine whether the document offered for probate should be admitted to the official record. It is the Register of Wills alone who has the authority to appoint personal representatives for estate administration. With quasi-judicial powers, the Register can conduct evidentiary hearings, take testimony, & render decisions on disputable estate matters prior to opening the official record. Those decisions, once rendered, may only be appealed for specific reasons to the Orphans' Court Division of the Common Pleas Court.