As Register of Wills, Byron’s top priority has been to provide Howard County families with professional, efficient, compassionate service when they’ve lost a loved one. He understands how difficult the passing of a family member is and how confusing probate can be, so he has hired and trained a diverse team of experienced and understanding staff members whose goal is to make this process as quick and easy as possible.

Faced with the unprecedented challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic, amid shutdowns and constantly changing health and safety rules and regulations, Byron and his team never stopped working. Byron and his team quickly adapted to the crisis to ensure members of the public still received the help they needed. Technological enhancements were immediately put in place to allow them to all answer phones and access records remotely, an online chat feature was launched, a drop box installed at the courthouse, and the mail was still checked every day. Byron’s determination and success in seeing the public has continued to be served during this crisis is a testament to his proven and effective leadership as Register.

An unmistakable hallmark of Byron’s stewardship of this important office has been replacing the rigid and stodgy “that’s how it’s always been done” mentality of the past with an innovative, solutions-oriented attitude toward public service. His office is known for being responsive to people’s needs, focused on creating a supportive and reassuring environment for those who need help. His staff walk family members through the probate process step by step and try to make what can feel like an overwhelming system relatively simple and manageable. When you call or visit the office, you speak with a staff member directly with no appointment necessary. Under Byron’s leadership, Howard County families know that when they need help, he and his office are always there for them.

Byron has been recognized as an innovative, tech-savvy manager, who took an atrophied courthouse office and turned it into a modern model of efficiency. When he came into office in 2010, he found every aspect of its management and operations in need of an overhaul. Most office expenses were being paid by check, the office calendar was a physical calendar stuffed in a drawer, the employee handbook was a single piece of paper, not all staff used e-mail, some receipts were issued in carbon paper triplicate, and court hearings were recorded on an audio cassette player. The office had never hired a person of color. Numerous long standing probate procedures had no basis in law. Byron immediately developed and implemented a transition plan and made huge strides modernizing and professionalizing the office.

After reforming the Register’s office both physically and operationally, Byron oversaw its transition to the new Circuit Courthouse in 2021. He worked collaboratively with the county and architects to design an office that could serve the public for decades to come. This included additional workspace to accommodate additional staff, conference space, and a secure storage room for wills being held for safekeeping, accessible only by Byron and his staff. Working over the Independence Day holiday in 2021, Byron and his team moved, unpacked, and had the office up and running - on day one - answering phones and greeting members of the public visiting the new courthouse.

During his tenure, Byron’s office has received back-to-back perfect audits from the Maryland Office of Legislative Audits. He worked with community groups to determine which non-English languages are most spoken at home in Howard County and had his Administering Estates guide translated into 13 languages - from Arabic to Vietnamese. He undertook the office’s first-ever audit of its wills being stored for safekeeping, discovering 655 wills that belonged stored in old estate files both here in Howard County and in 21 other jurisdictions in Maryland. He created a step-by-step guide to the domestic partner inheritance tax exemption for real property. These are just some of many of his endeavors to effectively manage this important office through best practices, to improve access to its services, to increase transparency, and to serve the public with the efficiency and ease they deserve.

As Register, Byron has been a tireless advocate for reform. He’s spent his entire tenure working with members of the local and state Bar Associations, his colleagues, staff, and stakeholders in the community to identify everything from internal office procedures to state laws that don’t adequately or fairly serve the public. These efforts have led to numerous meaningful reforms that have had a direct positive impact on Maryland families. Here’s a list of some - but not nearly all - of the many reforms he’s either spearheaded or contributed to during his time in office:

Successfully lobbied the General Assembly to permit e-filing in probate in Maryland, which will save everyone involved time and money, and reduce paper waste.

Led the effort to reform the Orphans’ Court in Howard County, replacing an antiquated part-time court of partisan elected non-lawyer judges with experienced Judges of the Circuit Court. This has already led to reduced waiting time for orders to be issued and fewer, shorter, and more compassionate court hearings.

Worked for two years to successfully lobby the General Assembly to overhaul probate fees in Maryland. By replacing a regressive fee structure where those with the least were paying the highest fee proportionally with one that makes everyone pay their fair share, we were able to completely eliminate fees on small estates, saving families at the lower end of the economic ladder over $1 million per year.

Spearheaded an initiative that reduced paper records by nearly 90%, saving taxpayer dollars on expensive and tedious record management.

Launched an effort to allow members to obtain copies of probate records online with the click of a button.

Led an initiative to scrap an old rule that required sending some notices by certified mail which has saved Marylanders over $800,000 just in postage costs.

Advocated to make more estates eligible to proceed as small estates, which allows estates to close more quickly with a less rigorous accounting process.

Led an effort to permit more estates to continue under a process called Modified Administration, which prevents onerous accounting requirements and interference by a court.

Supported a measure to codify in Maryland law the “slayer’s rule,” preventing people from inheriting from someone they have killed.

Worked with other Registers to allow payments by credit card in person and online.

Provides all legal notices typically printed in newspapers online at no cost.

Advocated to increase funeral and family allowances in all estates.

Works with other Registers to adopt statewide uniform policies and procedures.

Whenever someone passes away and an estate needs to be opened, the office of the Register of Wills is required to charge a fee based on the value of the estate. For several years, I studied our fee structure - which is set by the Maryland General Assembly - and its impact on Maryland families. What I found is a dire need for reform. These fees were deeply regressive socioeconomically and also prejudicial to families of color. This meant that the smaller the estate, the higher the fee was as a proportion of the value of the estate. It also meant that families of color were more likely to have smaller estates and, therefore, more likely than white families to pay these regressive fees. I worked with members of the General Assembly to eliminate all fees on small estates - those under $50,000 - and restructure our fees on larger estates to make them fair regardless of the wealth of the person who passed away. This reform was critical to make our fee structure fair, and I’m pleased to say after years of hard work and negotiation, our new fee structure went into effect October 1, 2022.

Thousands of families have benefited from this reform and I’m so grateful to everyone who made this a reality.

In 2022, over 61% of Howard County voters and 66% of voters statewide voted for Ballot Question 5, a constitutional amendment that abolished the orphans’ court for Howard County and transferred its duties to the Circuit Court. This amendment went into effect in December of 2022. After months of planning negotiated between the Circuit Court and Register of Wills, the transition couldn’t have gone any more smoothly.

A year later, the facts speak for themselves. Compared to the former orphans’ court, the Circuit Court issues orders in half the time and hearings are 43% shorter, saving families stress, time, and legal fees. Under the former court, family members and attorneys were routinely confused by convoluted court orders, insulted and harassed by judges in open court, and expressed their frustration to Byron and his staff on an almost daily basis. Now, with an experienced lawyer judge, orders are written clearly and in compliance with Maryland law, both family members and attorneys are treated with dignity and respect - leaving the courtroom feeling heard, seen, and satisfied, even when they aren’t happy with the outcome - and Byron and his staff are no longer bombarded with complaints. Quite the opposite is true, with the public expressing an extremely high degree of satisfaction with the new system.

This reform has been a huge success. By every measure, this has been night and day for grieving families and the attorneys who practice in this area.

Byron has worked to make his office and its services visible and accessible by fostering strong ties with members of the Howard County community. Having a Last Will and Testament is very important and understanding the basics about probate is very helpful for families thinking about estate planning, so Byron has made community outreach a hallmark of his tenure as Register.

He’s spoken at every Howard County senior center and library, meets with civic organizations and church groups, conducts a free lecture every semester at Howard Community College, and hosts a booth at the popular 50+ Expo in its various formats every year. During the COVID-19 pandemic, Byron has held numerous virtual seminars and has provided videos and materials for several online informational fairs to continue pushing helpful information out to the public. Byron has developed a collaborative working relationship with local attorneys, ensuring that they are kept up to date with procedural changes and new laws impacting the public. He also volunteers in our elementary schools, serving as a guest judge each year in the Simulated Congressional Hearings program, where 5th graders learn about the founding of America and the importance of civic duty.