Westmoreland County register of wills, judges clash over filing delays during contempt of court hearing

Parents of adopted children told two Westmoreland County judges that months-long delays in the processing of paperwork filed with the Register of Wills Office led to major life interruptions.

“It’s been a disaster,” one parent said.

Another testified, “Due to the negligence of the office, we had to self-pay for our daughter’s medical attention. It’s completely unacceptable.”

Register of Wills Sherry Magretti Hamilton appeared in court Thursday to answer charges that she and the office she has run since 2016 are in contempt of two court orders that required prompt filing of adoption records, appeals and other documents processed by her courthouse office.

The Register of Wills Office oversees court records related to estates, adoptions, guardianships and marriage licenses.

The parents who testified were not identified in court, and the judges who presided, Jim Silvis and Harry S. Smail Jr., ruled the parents are to remain anonymous. Adoption records are sealed.

In November 2022, Silvis issued a court order that required all adoptions and appeals to be filed within 10 days in response to allegations the office had neglected filings in dozens of cases.

A second court order, issued Jan. 31 by Smail, also required her office to complete all filings in a timely manner that included a five-day requirement to complete adoption records and ordered her to produce detailed records of her office’s work.

Hamilton faces potential fines and incarceration and could be at risk of having a court-ordered conservator administer the Register of Wills Office if she is found in contempt of court.

The judges made no finding Thursday. They said they will consider additional testimony when the hearing resumes April 3.

Hamilton, during about four hours of testimony Thursday, claimed her office is in compliance with the court order and has eliminated all filing backlogs that had surfaced after 2019.

She blamed those filing delays on staff shortages, disloyalty and insubordination of employees and her absences related to health issues.

“We believe the orders have been complied with,” Hamilton said.

A supervisor with a private nonprofit that oversees adoptions for the state’s adoption network and serves as a subcontractor for the Westmoreland County Children’s Bureau testified the Register of Wills Office was out of compliance with the court orders for all of 2023 and during the first two months of this year.

Juliann Botten said there were at least four cases in 2023 in which it took more than 200 days file adoption certificates and another three other cases with delays of more than 100 days to produce those records.

Those documents take between five to six minutes to produce, Botten said.

Filing delays can produce substantial hardships to new parents who require those records to secure birth certificates, legal proof for medical insurance, school enrollment and other issues.

Other allegations leveled against the Register of Wills Office included claims that staff and supervisors ignored court orders to process and forward records to state courts for appeals and were discourteous and dismissive of court administrators and judges.

“There have been problems with adoption (records) for seven or eight years,” Botten testified.

She said her staff of paralegals spent one month last year assisting the Register of Wills Office in processing adoption records, and, during that time, backlogs were eased.

Hamilton rejected offers from the county children’s bureau to pay for additional staff to continue that work, she testified.

Without that assistance, the adoption filing again slowed, Botten said.

“Was I shocked, no, disappointed yes,” Botten said.

Attorney Jeff Loughner said he represented clients who were frustrated by the ongoing delays in completing the required paperwork that, he said, took between four months and a year to finalize in some instances.

“We tried to live with it but hoped someday it would be corrected,” Loughner testified.

Hamilton, who was re-elected to a third term in November, defended her oversight of the office. She said, upon her full-time return to work in December, staff performance has improved. She said new employees were hired to augment the workforce because of pay hikes she lobbied county commissioners to approve in February.

The office has 11 employees and two vacancies.

In addition to Hamilton’s duties as head of the Register of Wills Office, the judges questioned her qualifications for the job.

Hamilton served two years as the office’s chief deputy under then-Register Michael Ginsburg. She previously worked as a lawyer and was a Hempfield Township supervisor.

The office, she said, processes about 3,000 new cases each year, including about 200 adoptions. Much of the filing work is assigned to her staff, she testified.

“In my role, I am more involved with policy, budgets, hiring and working with court administration,” Hamilton said.