Register and recorder implementing new programs

The Lawrence County Register and Recorder’s office is introducing three new programs this month.

Access to these programs, which have been custom-built to ensure a quick, efficient and user-friendly experience for the customer, will be available at lawrencecountypa.gov/gov/register.

Also on the site will be detailed instructions on how to use each one.

The first program is a new cloud search for our real estate records. This, according to Register and Recorder Janet L. Kalajainen, will be one of the first offered by any county in Pennsylvania. It is a modern web browser-like interface that will speed up and simplify searching through public records dating back to 1849. It has features like a Quick Search, a more-thorough Advanced Search and Live Chat support with a 24/7 Help Desk for any questions.

Cloud Search will provide users quick and easy access to publicly available information which they can print at home for free. There will also be an option to purchase certified documents online, and the site will include an easy-to-use shopping cart for such transactions.

The second program will be eProbate, a new, state-of-the-art virtual probate system. It will take the virtual probates that the register and recorder’s office started at the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic a step further. Petitions for probate will now be able to be submitted online.

Once the office receives them, the petitioner will be prompted to schedule an appointment for video probate. The information provided will be automatically populated within our software system to help expedite the issuing of legal documents for probate.

This new system of probate, Kalajainen said, will be beneficial to both residents and out-of-town customers. Once the probate is reviewed and accepted, original documents can be either mailed in or brought to the courthouse, whereupon letters and short certificates will be ready for pickup or delivery upon payment.

Finally, the Register of Wills office will offer eFiling for the majority of its documents. This will give customers the ability to scan documents and send them to the office electronically to be filed, Kalajainen said, saving both time and postage.

The register and recorder’s office is responsible for both the probating of estates as well as the recording of all real estate documents for Lawrence County.

“We have been e-Recording in the Recorder of Deeds side of our office since 2012 and now approximately 60 percent of our documents are received electronically, with the percentage increasing every year,” Kalajainen said. “We have always kept up with the latest innovations in technology and are excited to provide these three new programs for even faster and more efficient service.”

dwachter@ncnewsonline.com