The Register of Wills Office has released part of a new policy manual which codifies a series of new approaches around wills and death certificates in New Castle County.
Most notable is a policy which “bans the box.” That means that former felons can serve as executors of estates in some cases, says Ciro Poppiti, the New Castle County Register of Wills.
"That doesn’t mean they’re automatically qualified either, but they’re not automatically disqualified. And then we establish factors to weigh, and that is really my job as the register of wills, to weigh rather that person should be named executor or not," Poppiti said.
Those factors include how long ago the person committed the felony , if they were named in the will, and if the person who died knew about the felony and still decided to name the person.
The old policy, which simply banned felons from holding the executive role, created quote “a lot of chaos,” adds Poppiti.
Poppiti adds the new changes also include streamlining accounting processes so beneficiaries will receive their inheritance faster and more efficiently.
"This state is graying The Baby boomers have now hit 70," Poppiti said. "What are we doing to make sure that everything they’ve saved can pass quickly and safely to the next generation?"
The new process will take some cases days to settle. In the past, those same cases could take over a year.