James P. Naftel

Judge Naftel was appointed to serve as Place 1 Probate Judge by Governor Kay Ivey on June 30, 2020. Prior to his appointment, Judge Naftel practiced law in Birmingham for over twenty years, with a concentration in probate practice, estate administration, estate planning, and trust, estate and fiduciary litigation. In private practice, Judge Naftel was elected as a fellow of the American College of Trust and Estate Counsel in 2019, received the distinction of Accredited Estate Planner from the National Association of Estate Planners, and earned an AV Preeminent Peer Review Rating on Martindale-Hubbell. Judge Naftel served as Chairperson of the Probate Section of the Birmingham Bar Association in 2019. Judge Naftel was also a frequent CLE presenter and was Co-Author and Editor of the Alabama Law Institute handbook Alabama Probate Law and Procedure: the Administration of Decedent’s Estates. Judge Naftel is a 1994 graduate of the University of Mississippi and a 1998 graduate of the University of Alabama School of Law.