Kugler was born in Camden, New Jersey. He attended and graduated from The Peddie School in 1968 and received a Bachelor of Arts degree from Syracuse University in 1975 and a Juris Doctor from Rutgers School of Law–Camden in Camden in 1978. He was a law clerk for Judge John F. Gerry of the United States District Court for the District of New Jersey from 1978 to 1979. He was an assistant prosecutor in the Camden County Prosecutor's Office from 1979 to 1981. He was a Deputy attorney general of Division of Criminal Justice, New Jersey Department of Law and Public Safety from 1981 to 1982. He was in private practice in New Jersey from 1982 to 1992.
^"George Kugler Jr., former N.J. attorney general". Newsday. 2004-08-05. Archived from the original on October 24, 2012. Retrieved 2009-11-29. Kugler is survived by his wife; two sisters; a stepbrother; and four sons. One son, Peter D. Kugler, of Littleton, Colo., played professional football for several years, including in three Super Bowls with the San Francisco 49ers. Another son, Robert Kugler, is a federal judge who was confirmed by the Senate in 2002.