Greensburg attorney James Antoniono will oversee the Westmore­land County Register of Wills Office, effective May 28, according to a court order issued Monday.

The county’s elected register of wills, Sherry Magretti Hamilton, “has forfeited her role as the sole and chief administrator of the office by being derelict in her duties and responsibilities” to the county’s citizens and to the county and state courts, an order signed by Judge Harry Smail Jr. said.

Last week, Hamilton was held in contempt of court over her conduct.

Antoniono was slated to take over operations May 28 as temporary conservator of the office of register of wills and clerk of the orphans court.

The court ordered that Hamilton’s duties are to be determined by Antoniono and that she is required to follow his direction. Hamilton “will be treated as an employee of the office” and “will be expected to work as all other employees of the office work,” the order stated.

The county office is where records are filed and processed for adoptions, guardianships, wills and estates.

Antoniono declined to comment.

Hamilton referred a request for comment to her attorney. A message left at the office of Pittsburgh attorney Ryan Mergl, who defended Hamilton during two days of testimony this year, wasn’t immediately returned late Monday afternoon.

Smail and fellow Common Pleas Judge Jim Silvis on May 7 found Hamilton in direct criminal contempt on three counts: disobedience or neglect by an officer of the court; official misconduct as an officer of the court; and misbehavior in the presence of the court and obstructing the administration of justice.

Their orders required her to perform routine duties and comply with standards set during the previous year.

The judges said Hamilton violated two administrative court orders — one issued in late 2022 and another in January — requiring her to take corrective action to clear filing backlogs that delayed adoption certificates and appeals.

Witnesses testified the backlogs persisted for years.

Judges criticized Hamilton for failing to hire adequate staff for her office and for failing to appear in person to oversee operations. Staffers testified she was seldom at work and sometimes was in the courthouse for as few as nine hours a week.

Hamilton testified this year that she worked on average as much as 30 hours a week at the courthouse and that her office had mostly complied with the court orders.

According to court documents previously filed against Hamilton, she was warned contempt of court findings could result in incarceration, assignment of a conservator over the register of wills office and personal fines up to or beyond $5,000.

She was ordered to appear before the judges for a June 17 sentencing hearing.

Hamilton receives an annual salary of $89,774.

For his work as conservator, Antoniono will be paid $170 per hour, a rate equivalent to that for private county defense counsel. He may hire a solicitor at an hourly rate of $60.

Those hourly fees will be paid from the county budget allotted to the register of wills office. Any personal fines assessed against Hamilton related to the charges she faces are to be paid into the county general fund, as reimbursement for the payments to the conservator and his solicitor, according to the order.

The order notes that Antoniono “will be expected to implement practices to ensure that the office remains compliant with requisite and applicable statutory deadlines” and “to determine if there are practices that the office could and should employ to run more efficiently.”

If Hamilton fails to follow Antoniono’s orders, it could expose her to being held in further contempt of court.

The conservatorship will be subject to at least three review hearings by the court, held about every four months.

“It is hoped and expected that the role of the conservator will decrease over time,” the order stated.

Antoniono can resign as conservator, with at least two weeks’ notice, and the court may end his services at any time and for any reason.

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