Margot Hall Will Seek Fourth Term

As Probate Judge

Probate Judge Margot Hall has announced she is seeking reelection for a fourth term as judge of probate for the District of Newtown. The Republican caucus to nominate a candidate for probate judge will be held next Tuesday, July 16, at 8:15 pm, at Edmond Town Hall.

Judge Hall has served the Newtown probate court since 1977, initially as assistant clerk to the late Judge Benjamin B. Blanchard and then for 12 years as clerk for Judge Merlin Fisk. She was first elected to the office of judge of probate in 1990, and has served ever since.

 The probate system in Connecticut is unique in the country in that most districts comprise only one or two towns, meaning that families who need help may already know the judge. Judge Hall believes this relative informality is a great strength and she hopes that it can continue in the face of increasing pressures to consolidate districts and make the courts larger and more formal. At the present time, all probate judges are elected and judges need not be lawyers. Judge Hall is one of 41 lay judges out of a total of 130 courts in Connecticut. The Newtown probate district has not had a lawyer as judge since 1915.

In 1995, Judge Hall was appointed by the Probate Court Administrator to serve on a statewide committee to review the court system and make recommendations for change. She is currently a member of the committee charged with revision of the Connecticut Probate Practice Book. She also serves on the Procedures Review Committee, which has responsibility for incorporating statutory changes and improvements to the forms available throughout the probate system.

Judge Hall was recently appointed as the coordinator of Region 4, one of nine regions in the state. As coordinator, she is responsible for holding at least four meetings annually of the judges from 13 area probate districts, running from Danbury to Woodbury.

Judge Hall is married to attorney Robert Hall and has three married children, Elinor Hall of Jacksonville, Fla., Marianne Westmoreland of Winchester, Va., and Stuart Hall of Sandy Hook. She has four grandchildren.

Judge Hall was born in East Germany, moved to West Germany and then emigrated to the United States with her family in 1956 at age 17.

The responsibility of the probate judge is to monitor and supervise the proper distribution of a deceased’s estate. Other roles are to appoint conservatorships, handle children’s matters, appoint guardians of estates, and to terminate parental rights.