Pierce County resident urges council investigation after alleged missing probate orders and unexplained payment
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Summary
A Pierce County resident told the council during community forum on June 3 that court probate orders in her late mother's case were not entered into the record and asked the council to investigate, citing a separate recent payment to the outgoing clerk’s office.
During community forum at the June 3, 2025, Pierce County Council meeting, resident Heather Benedict asked the council to investigate what she described as missing probate court records in her late mother’s estate and called for transparency and accountability.
Benedict said two court orders signed in open court in 2016 were filed but "never entered into the record," and that the final decree that would have closed the probate case was not filed. She described eight years of difficulty and said her repeated inquiries to county offices produced inconsistent explanations. Benedict said that last month a $1 million payment was made "to the outgoing clerk" and that she received no public accounting for what happened; she asked the council to investigate and to provide answers about the missing records.
The comment was made during the community forum portion of the meeting; the council did not take formal action on the item during the session. Benedict said she had sought relief through court motions and department meetings and urged the council to pursue transparency measures to ensure record keeping failures do not recur.