Connecticut Probate Courts

The Connecticut Probate Court system is a system of 54 individual probate courts located throughout the state of Connecticut. The jurisdiction of each court extends to the legal affairs of the deceased, estates, some aspects of family law, conservatorship, and several other matters requiring specific legal decisions. As statutory courts, all jurisdiction and authority is governed by the state legislature.

Elections of judges

Judges of probate are the only members of the state judicial branch elected in Connecticut. Judges are elected in partisan elections and hold office for a term of four years, their elections held within the same cycle as gubernatorial elections.
Prior to 2011, state law permitted anyone to run as a candidate for judge of probate regardless of previous judicial or legal experience. However, a state law which went into effect on January 5, 2011 now requires candidates for judge of probate to be both a lawyer and a member of the Connecticut bar.

Consolidation of court districts

After operating without much change since 1850, growing financial difficulties in the state and within the probate courts created the need for the system to be overhauled. In the summer of 2009, the Probate Court Redistricting Commission assembled to review the aging court system and make recommendations for decreasing the number of judicial districts from 117. In September 2009, the commission announced its consolidation plan to reduce the number of districts to 54 for the 2010 elections.

Probate districts

This list contains the currently elected judges of probate as of 2025: On July 1st, 2025, special elections were ordered in three districts to replace judges who will retire in 2026. The retiring judges and their elected replacements are noted in the table.

District	Municipalities served	Judge of probate	First elected
1. Hartford	Hartford*	Foye A. Smith	2015^†
2. West Hartford	West Hartford*	Owen P. Eagan	2016^†
3. Tobacco Valley	Bloomfield, East Granby, Suffield, Windsor Locks*	Daniel N. Mara	2022
4. Greater Windsor	East Windsor, South Windsor*, Windsor	Mary C. Deneen	2022
5. East Hartford	East Hartford*	Richard P. Gentile	2022
6. Glastonbury-Hebron	Glastonbury*, Hebron	Sean Michael Peoples	2014
7. Newington	Newington*, Rocky Hill, Wethersfield	Robert A. Randich	2006
8. Berlin	Berlin, New Britain*	William C. Rivera	2022
9. Simsbury Regional	Avon, Canton, Granby, Simsbury*	David C. Shepard	2022
10. Farmington Regional	Burlington, Farmington*, Plainville	Evelyn M. Daly Expected to retire by April 19th, 2026	2006
10. Farmington Regional	Burlington, Farmington*, Plainville	Paul R. Bedard To replace Daly	2025^†
11. North Central Connecticut	Enfield*, Somers, Stafford, Union	Carolyn L. McCaffrey	2018
12. Ellington	Ellington, Vernon*	Elisa H. Bartlett	2018
13. Greater Manchester	Andover, Bolton, Columbia, Manchester*	Michael M. Darby	2010
14. Region #14	East Haddam, East Hampton, Marlborough*, Portland	Jennifer L. Berkenstock	2010
15. Middletown	Cromwell, Durham, Middlefield, Middletown*	Phrances Leverton Szewczyk	2024^†
16. Meriden	Meriden*	Ariana F. Ceneviva	2018
17. Wallingford	Wallingford*	Patrick M. Birney	2022
18 Cheshire-Southington	Cheshire*, Southington	Matthew J. Jalowiec	2010
19. Bristol-Plymouth	Bristol*, Plymouth	William A. Hamzy	2022
20. Waterbury	Waterbury*, Wolcott	Matthew P. Vaccarelli	2018
21. Naugatuck	Beacon Falls, Naugatuck*, Middlebury, Prospect	Rosa C. Rebimbas	2022
22. Region #22	Bethlehem, Oxford, Roxbury, Southbury*, Washington, Watertown, Woodbury	David K. Labriola	2024^†
23. Torrington Area	Barkhamsted, Colebrook, Goshen, Hartland, New Hartford, Torrington*, Winchester, Winsted	James P. Steck	2022
24. Litchfield Hills	Canaan, Cornwall, Harwinton, Kent, Litchfield, Morris, Norfolk, Canaan, Connecticut\|North Canaan*], Salisbury, Sharon, Thomaston, Warren	Jordan M. Richards	2022
25. Tolland-Mansfield	Coventry, Mansfield, Tolland*, Willington	Sophia H. Shaikh	2024^†
26. Northeast	Ashford, Brooklyn, Eastford, Pomfret, Putnam*, Thompson, Woodstock	Gabrielle Labonte	2022
27. Plainfield-Killingly Regional	Canterbury, Killingly, Plainfield*, Sterling	Carol Anne Rowe	2018
28. Windham-Colchester	Colchester, Chaplin, Hampton, Lebanon, Scotland, Windham*	George A. Baker	2024^†
29. Norwich	Bozrah, Franklin, Griswold, Lisbon, Norwich*, Preston, Sprague, Voluntown	Charles K. Norris	2010
30. Southeastern CT Regional	Groton*, Ledyard, North Stonington, Stonington	Elizabeth L. Leamon	2020^†
31. New London	New London*, Waterford	Mathew H. Greene	1992^†
32. Niantic Regional	East Lyme*, Montville, Old Lyme, Salem	Jeffrey A. McNamara	2010
33. Saybrook	Chester, Clinton, Deep River, Essex, Haddam, Killingworth, Lyme, Old Saybrook*, Westbrook	Jeannine Lewis	2018
34. Madison-Guilford	Guilford, Madison*	Peter M. Barrett Expected to retire by July 2nd, 2026	2014
34. Madison-Guilford	Guilford, Madison*	Seth Klaskin To replace Barrett	2025^†
35. Branford-North Branford	Branford*, North Branford	Charles E. Tiernan, III	2022
36. East Haven-North Haven	East Haven*, North Haven	Michael R. Brandt	2002
37. Hamden-Bethany	Bethany, Hamden*	Michael G. Dolan	2024^†
38. New Haven	New Haven*	Americo R. Carchia	2022
39. West Haven	West Haven	Mark J. DeGennaro Expected to retire by January 30th, 2026	2010
39. West Haven	West Haven	Timothy Gunning To replace DeGennaro	2025^†
40. Milford-Orange	Milford*, Orange	Ben Gettinger	2021^†
41. Derby	Ansonia*, Derby, Seymour, Woodbridge	Clifford D. Hoyle	2014
42. Shelton	Shelton*	Fred J. Anthony	1994
43. Danbury	Danbury*	Joseph DaSilva, Jr.	2022
44. Housatonic	Bridgewater, Brookfield, New Fairfield, New Milford*, Sherman	Martin F. Landgrebe	2010
45. Northern Fairfield County	Bethel*, Newtown, Ridgefield, Redding	Steven Boa DeMoura	2022
46. Trumbull	Easton, Monroe, Trumbull*	T.R. Rowe	2014
47. Stratford	Stratford*	Max L. Rosenberg	2018
48. Bridgeport	Bridgeport*	Paul J. Ganim	1998
49. Fairfield	Fairfield*	Katherine E. Caulfield	2024^†
50. Westport	Weston, Westport*	Lisa K. Wexler	2014
51. Norwalk-Wilton	Norwalk*, Wilton	Douglas Stern	2018
52. Darien-New Canaan	Darien*, New Canaan	William P. Osterndorf	2014
53. Stamford	Stamford*	Gerald M. Fox, III	2014
54. Greenwich	Greenwich*	David W. Hopper	2002

Indicates location of the court
Indicates location of satellite office
^† Denotes special election due to resignation, retirement, or death of the previous judge
D = Endorsed by the Democratic Party
R = Endorsed by the Republican Party
D/R = Endorsed by both parties