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Berks County Register Of Wills

Berks County Register Of Wills

About The Register Of Wills/Clerk Of Orphans' Court

The Register of Wills and Clerk of the Orphan's Court is an elected official who serves as a dual officeholder and whose primary function is to determine whether the document offered for probate should be received as the last will of the decedent. When disputes arise at the time of probate, the Register, as a quasi-judicial officer, is empowered to hold hearings, take testimony, review evidence and render decisions on how the administration of the estate shall proceed.

Responsibilities as Clerk of Orphan's Court include maintaining the docket and files for adoptions, guardianships and other issues which may come before the Orphans' Court Judge, as well as taking applications for, and issuing, marriage licenses.

Finally, the Register of Wills is a mandated keeper of all records filed here, and since those records must be kept forever, the office is a great resource for genealogical information.

Featured Information

Virtual Probate Process

View the Probate Process Page for filings of New Estates. Forms and requirements can be found here.

Marriage License Applications

Applications are filed online only, no in person applications are accepted at this time. See page below for directions.

Orphans' Court

Estate matters that require judicial disposition are handled in the Orphan's Court, view their page below.

PA Inheritance Tax Payments & Returns

The Register of Wills serves as an agent for the Commonwealth in the collection of state inheritance taxes.

 

Marriage Certifications Requests

Mail the completed Marriage Certification Request Form, along with the appropriate fee by check or money order to our Office. Note: Berks County can only issue Certifications for licenses they have issued. 

Court Appointed Guardians Fee Change

Per an Administrative Order (linked below) all professional/corporate Court appointed guardians will see a fee increase for incapacitated persons who are recipients of Medicaid.

Forms and Resources


Links

The #1 source for family history online
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Non-profit organization established in 1980 to collect, preserve & disseminate genealogical data
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Collection of informative genealogical links
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Home page of the Berks County Hitorical Society
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The Internet's oldest & largest genealogy resource
Home page for the State of Pennsylvania
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Forms

The above is a list of interactive forms available, they may be duplicated as required or filled out online and printed. To complete form directly in your web-browser, simply "tab" through the form and fill in the appropriate information. Please note that the forms are scanned in "PDF" format, thereby requiring Adobe Reader software to be installed on your computer. This program is available free of charge at the following website: https://www.adobe.com/products/acrobat/readstep2.html