Judge Bedelia C Hargrove

On February 28, 2017, Judge Bedelia C Hargrove made history in DeKalb County, Georgia when she was sworn in as the first African American Chief Judge of the Probate Court of DeKalb County after briefly serving as the Associate Judge for the Court. Judge Hargrove serves as both the Judge and Clerk of the Probate Court. In her judicial capacity, Judge Hargrove is responsible for appointing guardians and conservators for adults and minors; adjudicating mental health proceedings, will and administration contests, hearings on accountings, appraisals and inventories, hearings on revocation of Letters in estates, adult and minor guardianships, and adult and minor conservatorships, and petitions to clear private right of ways; and a variety of other cases inasmuch as the Probate Court has concurrent jurisdiction with Superior Courts in certain legal proceedings. Judge Hargrove is also responsible for administering oaths to Public Officers and maintaining bonds of Public Officials. In her Clerk of court capacity, Judge Hargrove oversees the daily operations of the six divisions of the Probate Court, which include judicial, estates, marriage and weapons, mental health and adult guardianships, auditing and minor guardianships, and accounting.

Judge Hargrove serves as Director of District 3 of the Georgia Council of Probate Court Judges.  In 2019, Judge Hargrove was appointed to serve on Georgia’s Behavioral Health Innovation and Reform Commission Subcommittee on Involuntary Commitment and on the Judicial Workload Assessment Committee with the Administrative Offices of the Court.  Judge Hargrove is a member of the Constitutional Officers Association of Georgia, the DeKalb Bar Association, the Atlanta Bar Association, the Gate City Bar, the Georgia Association of Black Women Attorneys, the DeKalb Lawyers Association, the DeKalb Estate Planning Group, the DeKalb Branch NAACP, and the South DeKalb Rotary.  Judge Hargrove is also a Lifetime Member of the Atlanta Branch NAACP and the National Council of Negro Women, DeKalb Section.

Judge Hargrove began her legal career in 1997 as an associate at an Atlanta law firm. She established The Hargrove Law Firm in 2003 where she focused her practice on fiduciary litigation, probate and estates, estate planning, personal injury and wrongful death cases, and general civil litigation. Judge Hargrove’s unique experience in fiduciary litigation includes her two-year service as a dedicated fiduciary on behalf of an incapacitated adult who was the victim of domestic violence, which later resulted in her death. In a bold statement against domestic violence, Judge Hargrove was successful in obtaining a $36 million-dollar judgment on behalf of the decedent’s estate. Judge Hargrove harbors a passion to eradicate domestic violence.

Judge Hargrove also previously served as a Judicial Hearing Officer for the Fulton County Probate Court from 2008 to 2017, a Judicial Hearing Officer for the DeKalb County Probate Court from 2014 to 2017, a court-appointed attorney and guardian ad litem in adult guardianship and probate and estate cases in DeKalb and Fulton Probate Courts for more than a decade, a DeKalb County conservator and county administrator from 2015 to 2016, the Attorney for the Fulton County Grievance Review Committee from 1998 to 2016, and the Attorney for the Fulton County Personnel Board in 2005 (interim) and 2016.

Judge Hargrove received her undergraduate degree in Political Science and Public Administration (cum laude) from Seton Hall University in 1992 and a juris doctorate from Georgia State University College of Law in 1996.

Judge Hargrove was born in New Jersey. She spent the majority of her youth in Pennsylvania and she has been a resident of Atlanta (DeKalb and Fulton) since 1992.

Please help us to re-elect Judge Hargrove in 2024 by making an on-line contribution or by making your check payable to:

Committee to Elect Judge Bedelia C Hargrove
P.O. Box 2988
Decatur, GA 30031

Please include your name, occupation, and employer with all contributions… it’s required by law!

Contributions to the Committee to Re-Elect Judge Bedelia C Hargrove are not tax deductible. State Law requires we use our best efforts to collect and report the name, occupation and employer of individuals whose contributions exceed $100 in an election cycle. An individual may contribute a maximum amount of $3,300 per individual, corporation or PAC for the 2024 Primary Election.

(Paid for by Committee to Elect Judge Bedelia C Hargrove)