SURROGATE
W. ROBERT HENTGES

913 West Hand Avenue
Cape May Court House, NJ 08210

Telephone: (609) 463-6666 (Office)
Telephone: (609) 465-3279 (Home)

Term expires: 12/31/07

W. Robert Hentges was elected to his first five-year term as County Surrogate in 1972. Surrogate Hentges graduated from Wildwood High School in 1955 and graduated from Rutgers School of Public Speaking in 1965. He is married to the former Dorothy McDonough. They have three children and five grandchildren.

As Surrogate of Cape May County, Mr. Hentges is responsible for the probate of wills; the appointment of administrators of estates; and the appointment of guardians for minors and incapacitated persons. He is also Deputy Clerk of the Superior Court. In addition, the Surrogate holds the Surrogate Court, and is both the Judge and Clerk of that Court.

Second in longevity among the State's twenty-one surrogates, Mr. Hentges is recognized for his judicial knowledge in probate and adoption matters. He serves on the Judiciary -Surrogates Liaison Committee with four Superior Court Judges and five other Surrogates. He is also a member and lecturer at the National College of Probate Judges.

In 1987 the Chief Justice of the New Jersey Supreme Court appointed Mr. Hentges to a pilot program to hear certain matters that previously were heard solely in the Superior Court. That program was so successful, that today, all twenty-one county Surrogates participate.

Mr. Hentges' public service began in 1963 when he was elected Mayor of the Borough of West Wildwood. He served in that capacity for ten years. Prior to becoming Mayor, Mr. Hentges was a police sergeant on the West Wildwood Police Department.

He is Past President of the Cape May County League of Municipalities; member and former treasurer of the Fraternal Order of Police, Lodge #7, a life member of the New Jersey State Firemen's Relief Association; and past district chairman of the Baysea District of the Boy Scouts of America.