Judge Debora Faulkner is serving her sixth term as Probate Judge for Greenville County.

Prior to her judicial service, Judge Faulkner practiced law for 13 years. She graduated Magna Cum Laude/Phi Beta Kappa from the University of South Carolina in 1979. In May, 1982, she received her Juris Doctorate degree from the University Of South Carolina School Of Law; and was admitted to the S.C. Bar in November, 1982. She has been admitted to practice in the U.S. District Court Fourth Circuit and the U.S. Supreme Court. Her memberships in professional organizations include the county, state and American Bar associations, the S.C. Probate Judges Association, the National College of Probate Judges, and the S.C. Women Lawyers.

She has held and continues to hold many leadership positions in her profession.

By appointment of the Chief Justice of the S.C. Supreme Court, she serves on the Probate Court Advisory Committee to the Supreme Court, the S.C. Commission on Alternative Dispute Resolution, and the S.C. Supreme Court Commission on Judicial Conduct.

She has been published in various S.C. Bar Publications and other professional magazines. As chairperson of the S.C. Supreme Court Task Force on State Courts and the Elderly, she oversaw an in depth study and comprehensive report detailing how the court system can be more responsive to seniors. The report was accepted nationally as a resource for other state courts and organizations.

Her office has been innovative in promoting public education, protecting incapacitated adults, and providing a user-friendly Probate Court. She instituted classes on estate administration, developed a national award winning website, and produced a helpful how-to estate video along with numerous step-by-step brochures on how to use the services of the Court. Judge Faulkner launched a Volunteer Court Monitoring program. In the Program, top paralegal students are trained by the Court and then visit with adults under the jurisdiction and protection of the Court. These visits allow for the Court to monitor the ongoing health and safety of these individuals. Further, to insure that reports can easily be made to the Court any time by any concerned citizen, an online complaint process was designed and implemented to allow early Court intervention, should the need arise. In the marriage license division, Judge Faulkner oversaw the implementation of bi-lingual marriage license information in order to be responsive to our Hispanic and Latino communities.

Judge Faulkner has received numerous awards, including an Award from the S.C. Attorney General’s Office for her work on behalf of South Carolina’s Senior citizens, the Scales of Justice Award for her innovative work in educating the public, lawyers and legal support staff on probate practice and procedures, and a national award for the usefulness of the Court’s website designed under her direction.

Judge Faulkner has been actively involved in her community through her service on the Shoeless Joe Jackson Museum Board, Leadership Greenville, Class XXVI, Furman University's Riley Institute for Diversity, Paul Harris Fellow Award from Rotary International and member of the Palmetto Society of United Way.