Officials issue marriage licenses remotely during pandemic
EAGLEVILLE » Despite the ongoing COVID-19 health crisis, estates still need to be opened and couples are still seeking to be married and Montgomery County officials said the Register of Wills Office has established temporary procedures to assist residents with those activities.
Commissioner Joseph C. Gale said under a pilot program the office is now temporarily utilizing video conferencing technology to allow people to open estates and to obtain marriage licenses.
“With regard to marriage licenses and the probate of wills, the Register of Wills is utilizing a procedure for remote filings which can include webbased video swearing-in of the oath in front of the clerk,” Gale explained during a recent news briefing at the county Emergency Operation Center.
The temporary procedures were established amid the pandemic after a judicial emergency was declared by President Judge Thomas M. DelRicci, which has closed the county courthouse and government offices through May 31. However, county officials are handling emergency court matters.
To access the remote procedures for marriage licenses or probate services county residents should call 610-278-3400 and leave a message regarding the procedure you would like to undertake. Requests also can be made by emailing ROWSupport@montcopa.org with your contact information.
Marriage license petitioners will be contacted by a representative of the Register of Wills Office and instructed to scan and email a copy of a government issued photo identification for the people seeking the license. If either party has been married before, they will be directed to scan and email a copy of the applicable divorce decree or death certificate.
Included in the email must be a contact phone number for one or both of the parties. Arrangements will then be made to set up a video conference call during which both people seeking the marriage license must participate, take an oath and sign the application.
The original signed documents along with a check for $53 are to be submitted for final review via an overnight delivery service.
Once the original signed documents are reviewed and accepted by the register’s office, the marriage license will be issued and sent to the applicants, officials said.
Those who seek to remotely establish probate services will be contacted by a representative of the Register of Wills Office and instructed to scan copies of all original relevant documents and send to the register’s office by email. Once the office, which is overseen by D. Bruce Hanes, is supplied with the necessary documentation, arrangements will be made to set up a video conference call to take necessary payments by check and to swear in the executor or administrator.
The original signed documents will then need to be submitted for final review via an overnight delivery service. Once the original signed documents are reviewed and accepted by the register’s office, the estate will be opened, and short certificates issued, officials said.