Legislation filed by State Sen. Will Barfoot (R-Pike Road) would increase the salary of Montgomery County Probate Judge JC Love III to $153,725.
The Montgomery County Probate Judge’s salary has been set at $88,000 since 1996. The salary is increased based on possible annual across-the-board salary increases or cost-of-living adjustments given to county employees.
The bill passed the Senate last week. It is currently in the House Committee on Montgomery County Legislation.
Barfoot told 1819 News in a recent interview that probate judges had an “important role.”
Montgomery County voters passed a local constitutional amendment in 2022 requiring the Probate Judge to be a licensed attorney.
“They do an awful lot of things. They’re responsible for the administrative portion of the equation: elections, tags, property. Then on the law side of the equation: adoptions, commitment hearings, (and could) take somebody’s civil rights away from them. It’s pretty important: guardianships and conservatorships,” Barfoot said. “Now, you have to be an attorney to be a probate judge. I think that’s a good step in the right direction. We need to make sure that we treat our probate judges the same as we do those other judges, circuit court judges for instance that have some responsibility as well. It’s an important role and I don’t want to diminish what the Probate Judge’s Office does.”
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