Edwards elected president of state Registers of Wills and Clerks of Orphans’ Court Association
Butler County Register of Wills and Clerk of Orphans’ Court Sarah Edwards said it is an honor to be elected to serve as president of the Registers of Wills and Clerks of Orphans’ Court Association of Pennsylvania.
Edwards, who has held the county office since 2016, was elected president of the association for the 2023-24 term on July 13 during its 95th annual conference in Philadelphia.
“I’m looking forward to serving in this role. We have a great association,” Edwards said. “It’s an honor to be elected by my peers. I hope I can get people involved with the organization and the various committees in the organization. I will hopefully lead them well.”
In her role as president, Edwards said she will organize conferences and legal and continuing education seminars, and arrange to have speakers at those events.
She said she has been a member of the association’s executive committee since 2021 and has been working toward becoming president.
Since taking the county office, Edwards said she has focused on the public by making services easily accessible and ensuring documents are processed quickly and accurately.
She instituted online marriage applications, a virtual probate process, increased the volume of forms and documents available online, started accepting credit and debit cards, and, in certain situations, will now go off-site to complete marriage applications for seriously ill individuals.
In 2021, Pennsylvania Supreme Court Chief Justice Debra Todd appointed Edwards to the Advisory Council on Elder Justice in the Courts. In the advisory council, Edwards serves on the guardianship data committee and the alternatives to guardianship committee.
“The appointment is quite an honor. The council has been around since 2014. We mainly look out for the elderly population of Pennsylvania,” Edwards said. “In my role, I assist with guardianship.”
The state secretary of aging, attorney general, directors of county Area Agencies on Aging and Allegheny County District Attorney Stephen Zappala also serve on the council.
She said the council advises the state Elder Justice in the Courts office in implementing various recommendations from the council’s task force and serves as a liaison to the legislative and executive branches. In addition, the council shares recommendations for elder justice with the Administrative Office of Pennsylvania Courts and the state Supreme Court.
Pennsylvania is one of two or three states to receive a $3 million federal grant to implement a guardianship tracking system that tracks guardians and incapacitated senior citizens, Edwards said. Through the tracking system, guardians are required to file annual reports on the whereabouts and financial situations of the seniors in their care to make sure the seniors’ money is being properly handled, she said.
Edwards said guardians in some cases hadn’t filed reports in over a year, and hearings to get guardians to comply with reporting requirements have been held before Orphans Court Judge S. Michael Yeager, who also is president judge of the county’s Common Pleas Court.
She will speak about the tracking system at the first Guardianship Summit, scheduled Sept. 20 to 22 in State College.
Edwards also serves on the association’s guardianship tracking system governance committee, legislative committee and training committee.
She has a Bachelor of Arts degree from Dickinson College, a Master of Arts degree in health care ethics, and a Juris Doctor degree from Duquesne University. Edwards resides in Penn Township with her husband, Tom, and two sons, Fred and Charlie.
