Union County Orphans' Court Records
Pennsylvania uses the term Orphans' Court for probate-type court work. In Union County, estate work is tied to the Register of Wills and Orphans' Court, while the combined Prothonotary, Clerk of Courts, and Orphans' Court office keeps court records for the Court of Common Pleas divisions. The Union County Register of Wills page says the office probates wills of deceased Union County residents, appoints estates when a person dies without a will, and maintains estate records.
The Register of Wills is listed at the Union County Courthouse, 103 S. Second Street, Lewisburg, PA 17837. Lisa A. Seward is listed as Register & Recorder, with direct number (570) 524-8767. The office lists regular hours of 8:30 AM-4:30 PM and states that document recording concludes at 4:15 PM. Inheritance taxes are collected for the Pennsylvania Inheritance Tax Division, with inheritance-tax checks payable to "Union County Register of Wills, Agent."
The official Register of Wills page is shown in the image captured from Union County's probate office information.
The screenshot anchors the probate records workflow to the local Register of Wills office rather than a generic statewide probate search.
Union County Probate Terms
Probate files often use short legal terms. These definitions keep Union County Orphans' Court records easier to read when reviewing a petition, account, or guardianship filing.
- Testator
- A person who made a will before death.
- Executor
- The person named to carry out the will and manage estate duties.
- Intestate
- Dying without a valid will, which can require appointment of an estate representative.
- Guardianship
- A court-supervised arrangement for a minor or incapacitated person.
- Conservatorship
- A property-management role used in some states; Union County probate research supports guardianship terminology for the local court materials.
Search Union County Probate Records
No official Union County online probate or estate search database was located in the research. The best access route is the courthouse office that holds the estate or Orphans' Court record. That is especially important for older estate files, because the Register of Wills page says all estates from 1813 to date have been placed on microfilm for easier access by attorneys and the public.
That microfilm note is one of the strongest local facts for Union County estate research. It means older probate records may still be accessible even when no public web search is available. Genealogy users, heirs, attorneys, and creditors should be ready to use names, death dates, estate years, or known family details to help staff locate the right roll or file. Modern active estate files may follow a different retrieval path than historical microfilm.
- Identify the decedent, estate name, approximate death date, or Orphans' Court case information.
- Contact the Register of Wills or Orphans' Court clerk function to confirm where the file is held.
- Ask whether the record is on microfilm, in an active estate file, or in an Orphans' Court docket.
- Request plain or certified copies and confirm the fee before mailing payment.
- For mailed requests, ask whether a self-addressed stamped envelope is needed for returned copies.
Note: Adoption and some minor or guardianship materials are not ordinary public lookup records.
Union County Orphans' Court Contacts
Union County probate records can involve more than one public counter in the same courthouse. Estate opening and wills are tied to the Register of Wills. Orphans' Court filings and orders are tied to the Orphans' Court clerk function within the combined first-floor court records office.
Register of Wills / Register & Recorder
Official: Lisa A. Seward
103 S. Second Street
Lewisburg, PA 17837
(570) 524-8762
8:30 AM-4:30 PM
Orphans' Court Records Office
Official: Diane Miller
103 S. Second Street, first floor
Lewisburg, PA 17837
(570) 524-8751
8:30 AM-4:30 PM
Open Union County Estate Records
The Register of Wills research lists the required estate-opening items. The office needs an unsigned petition, death certificate, original Last Will and Testament or codicil when one exists, renunciations, witness affidavits, and probate fees payable at the time of probate. If the person died without a will, the office appoints estates for individuals without a will.
Payment routing is also record-specific. The research states that probate and filing fee checks are payable to "Union County Register of Wills." Inheritance-tax checks are payable to "Union County Register of Wills, Agent" because the office collects inheritance taxes for the Pennsylvania Inheritance Tax Division. That distinction matters when an estate opening includes both local probate filing costs and tax-related payments.
Small estates have a separate state-law pathway. 20 Pa.C.S. Section 3102 addresses settlement of small estates by petition.
The small-estate statute helps explain why some Union County probate records begin with a petition rather than a full estate administration file.
Union County Orphans' Court Fees
The Union County Orphans' Court fee bill supplies the local filing and copy amounts. These figures should be checked against the current county PDF when a filing is made, because the research lists the current fee bill but later county updates can change costs.
| Item | Fee or Total |
|---|---|
| Accounts | $90.00 first page; additional pages $6.00 |
| Allowance for minor petition | $66.25 total |
| Discharge petition | $23.50 |
| Family settlement | $43.00 |
| Small estate | $42.00 total plus additional-page fee |
| Annual reports of guardians | $18.00 |
| Appointment of guardian, minors | $102.25 total |
| Petition for incapacitated person | $186.75 total |
| Certified copies of orders | $9.00 |
| Adoptions | $140.25 total |
What Union County Probate Records Show
Union County probate records can show wills, codicils, petitions, renunciations, witness affidavits, estate appointments, accounts, claims, guardianship reports, orders, and certified copies of orders. Estate files may also show inheritance-tax payment activity because the Register of Wills collects those taxes as agent for the Pennsylvania Inheritance Tax Division.
Guardianship and adoption filings appear on the Orphans' Court fee bill, but that does not make each file fully public. A fee schedule proves that the case type is handled by the office. Access still depends on Pennsylvania public access rules, the age and status of the case, the role of the requester, and whether confidential information can be redacted from a public copy.
The local record landscape is broader than probate alone. The Union County Recorder of Deeds page is a separate land-record source that may matter when an estate includes real property.
The Recorder of Deeds source is related context only; Orphans' Court and Register of Wills records remain the core probate record sources.
Restricted Orphans' Court Records
Not every Orphans' Court filing is public in the same way. Research section 8 identifies adoption as a restricted category, and guardianship or minor-related material may also be limited. Personal identifiers and confidential documents must be handled under the Pennsylvania UJS Case Records Public Access Policy. If a file contains protected details, the public copy may be redacted or withheld.
For county agency records outside a court file, Union County Right-to-Know procedures may apply. For a court case record, the UJS public access policy and the clerk or Register of Wills channel are the better starting points.
Small estate petitions, accounts, claims, and orders are closer to ordinary probate access than adoption or sensitive guardianship records. Even then, a requester should expect the office to screen for confidential information before copies are released. A plain copy may be enough for research, while a certified order or certificate is more appropriate when the record must prove authority to a bank, title company, court, or state agency.