For use by Stonewall Democrats of Dallas 2014 Judicial Candidate Questionnaire: (Note: Judicial candidates are asked to ONLY

answer the Judicial Candidate questionnaire, and NOT the County or State Level questionnaire!) 1. Why are you seeking the endorsement from Stonewall Democrats of Dallas? ! I am seeking the endorsement of Stonewall Democrats of Dallas because that imprimatur, along with my longtime membership at Northaven UMC, signals to voters that I am committed to full equality. 2. What are your plans to participate in a coordinated campaign in the general election? ! Upon reelection, I will raise money to contribute to the coordinated campaign and I will participate in megawalks as a driver or walker. In other words, I will continue to do what I have been doing the last four elections: work to turn and keep Dallas County blue. This time, we need to run up the score to help our statewide Democratic candidates. 3. Will you use the Stonewall Democrats of Dallas endorsement in or on: a) your website b) your campaign literature and mailers c) your social media assets (Twitter, Facebook, etc.) d) your campaign advertisements ! I will use my Stonewall endorsement on my website, in campaign literature and mailers and on social media. At present I am not certain what other advertising I will use 4. When elected, how will you recruit, retain, and create a friendly environment for LGBT and LGBT-friendly sta"? ! I participate in LGBT-friendly organizations (e.g., Stonewall, Northaven UMC, Legacy Counseling, Red Party Foundation, Lambda Legal, Black Tie, Northaven UMC, etc.) so that I have relationships with people who can help me recruit LGBT and LGBT-friendly sta" and attorneys ad litem. I model how I expect my sta" to treat LGBT people by treating LGBT parties who have lost a partner (or spouse) with the same compassion that I show for straight married couples. When I meet a LGBT attorney who would make a good attorney ad litem for

proposed wards or unknown heirs, I encourage them to submit their resume and schedule an interview so I can add them to my ad litem list. When it appears that someone is trying to take advantage of unfair laws to gain an advantage because the decedent was LGBT, I exercise my discretion to protect against unfair application of the law. 5. Would you be willing to appoint a liaison to meet with the LGBT community on a ongoing basis? If not, why? ! For now, I think I can serve as my liaison and am happy to speak to anyone about LGBT issues as they relate to probate and guardianship, keeping in mind the need to refrain from improperly signaling how I would rule on a particular issue. I am happy to send a surrogate if I am unable to attend ongoing meetings. 6. Understanding that administrative matters can take up a signicant percentage of your work day, what are some ideas for policies or procedures that you think you can improve court operations for the court which you are seeking o#ce? What are the most important policies or procedures you've identied as needing improvement? ! One of the rst things I did upon taking o#ce was to eliminate open docket where attorneys show up unannounced (with their clients) to ask the court to probate a will. Oftentimes, the attorney and parties would be sent home empty-handed because some procedural requirement was not satised. Now it is the policy to specially set applications so that the court has an opportunity to review applications ahead of time and alert counsel to procedural deciencies so they can be cured before coming to court. This change helps make the probate experience easier for applicants and witnesses. I also instructed my sta" to make it their goal to make attorneys acting in good faith (in uncontested matters) to appear to their clients to be well skilled in probate or guardianship, regardless whether they had ever handled a probate or guardianship case before. It is no surprise that my top assistant has been named the outstanding Dallas County probate court employee the past two years. ! Another policy change I have implemented is designed to make sure the court knows the whereabouts and status of all guardians and wards under the courts supervision. My sta" and I reviewed over 5000 guardianship cases listed as open on the docket and determined which cases needed to be closed, which cases needed new guardians, which cases needed to be transferred to another jurisdiction and which cases needed special attention. We now have only about 1200 open cases and we have been in touch with almost all of our guardians in the past 18 months. ! A third change that I have implemented to require the attorneys to negotiate deadlines for discovery and other pretrial matters, to agree on a mediator and complete mediation early on, and to adopt agreements designed to promote professionalism. Attorneys report to me that this policy, combined with my demonstrated willingness to hold trials, is having the desired e"ect of facilitating early resolution of conicts.

! Another change I and the other probate judges adopted was to require people seeking a determination of heirs to make a deposit toward the payment of the attorney ad litem. By doing so, we ensure that ad litem attorneys who have done their jobs never walk away empty handed. Furthermore, to the extent that attorneys deserve a fee greater than the deposit, the requirement of a deposit makes it easier for them to collect their full fee. A happy side e"ect of this policy has been that many ad litems are satised with nothing more than the deposit, which reduces the expense incurred by many parties appearing before the court. ! In addition, I have been actively involved in the drafting of revisions to the Texas Estates Code, including a change that is aimed at protecting survivors of domestic violence from disclosing their whereabouts in applications for guardianship. I have also taken the lead in drafting local rules for the Dallas County Probate Courts. And I have been working closely with Dallas County Clerk John Warren to facilitate the transition to an electronic records management system. ! Over the next year and into my next term I plan to adopt policies to reduce the cost incurred by parties seeking guardianships. I, Chris Wilmoth, am seeking an endorsement from the Stonewall Democrats of Dallas. Signed /s/ Chris Wilmoth_____________________ ! Date 12/26/13__________________________