This year is not the first time Ridgefield Attorney Sharon Wicks Dornfeld has considered running for a judge of probate post. But 2016 is the year the Democrat has chosen to step up, vying for the soon-to-be-vacant Northern Fairfield County regional probate court post along with Bethel Republican, attorney, and former probate judge Dan O'Grady.dornfeldforprobate.com.

Current Probate Judge Joseph A. Egan is leaving office in late October when he reaches the mandated retirement cap age of 70. That leaves an open seat for the court, which serves approximately 80,000 persons in Newtown, Ridgefield, Redding, and Bethel.

The Newtown Bee that for years, she has been pitched the idea by constituents and colleagues who have seen her efforts on behalf of clients appearing before local and regional probate judges. The world-wise graduate of London's American School went on to study media, journalism, and political science at the University of Michigan, obtaining an undergraduate degree in 1974.

In a recent interview, Atty Dornfeld told

She worked in television and film and later decided to return to school to become an attorney, returning to her alma mater's law school and graduating with her JD in 1981. Soon after, she moved to Ridgefield with her husband, raised their two now-adult children, and coincidentally served her very first probate client in what was then the Bethel municipal probate court.

Since then she has adjudicated hundreds of cases involving typical probate business across the state, as well as throughout the greater judicial court system, while amassing continuing education certificates in advanced family mediation, collaborative divorce, guardian ad litem, and parenting coordination. Ms Dornfeld was admitted to the Connecticut Bar in 1982, the United States District Court for the District of Connecticut in 1983, and the United States Supreme Court in 1996.

She said that while the state probate court system may not have been ready, or even well trained, for the crush of social ills that often affect the most vulnerable probate clients - the escalating trend in drug addictions, nonmarried parental concerns, and dwindling resources for the disabled to name a few - the probate system has reacted accordingly to be sure all citizens it serves receive professional handling.

"The cases are coming whether they were feeling ready for it," she said. "We've seen a dramatic increase in guardianship cases. Frequently the parents are drug involved, which then involves the noncustodial parent, or the grandparents. There are many more contested cases for guardianship than there used to be."

She said in 2010, the state began requiring probate judges to be practicing attorneys. And the subsequent rationalization of courts from the 169 individual municipal locations down to 55 in 2010 came with a requirement for those courts to be open and available to constituents during each weekday, with a judge on hand at least 20 hours weekly.

Almost all of Ms Dornfeld's cases involve probate or similar matters, and clients represent a wide range of socioeconomic and age demographics.

She cites a recent study that showed many people who could afford one, opt out of using an attorney for legal matters, when describing a growing probate user base harboring something of a distrust or loss of confidence in public institutions, and why she likes probate work so much.

"It may sound cliché, but it's really the people's court," she said. "It's still very local - you can go to the town hall and generally ask the judge for some help or advice; it's less formal; we sit around a table and we don't wear robes. It reduces the adversarial atmosphere, and that's as it should be for these kinds of cases."

According to her bio, Ms Dornfeld began practicing as an associate attorney with Danbury-based Ward J. Mazzucco, PC, and its predecessor, Bliss & Mazzucco, between 1983 and '88.

"I handled a variety of civil litigation, arbitration and probate matters and did some estate planning," she states in her bio. "I also advised a number of business clients on a continuing basis. During my last year with the firm, I was responsible for interviewing, hiring and administering staff."

As a sole practitioner since 1988, she said her Superior Court business largely consists of representing minor children in high-conflict custody and visitation disputes, neglect and abuse matters in the juvenile court, and as victims in criminal court.

"In the Probate Court, I represent children in guardianship and adoption matters, serve as conservator, and settle estates," she stated. "I also maintain a small general office practice, including real estate transactions, will drafting, mediation, and parenting coordination."

Since 1991, Ms Dornfeld has also served the City of Danbury as an assistant corporation counsel. Among her numerous honors, in 1992, she was the first recipient of the Danbury Bar Association Award, and she received the Volunteer of the Year Award from the Connecticut Alliance of YMCAs in 2014.

At the state level, she served as co-chair for the Connecticut General Assembly Joint Committee on the Judiciary Task Force to Study Legal Disputes Involving the Care and Custody of Minor Children in 2013 and 2014; was a member of the Office of Chief Child Protection Attorney Family Matters Advisory Committee; served on two regional judicial district grievance panels; was part of the Regional Advisory Committee for the Department of Children and Families; and has been a special master at the Regional Family Trial Docket since 1995.

Among her many posts and volunteer positions outside the courts, Ms Dornfeld has served as president of A Better Chance in Ridgefield, Inc; the Regional YMCA of Western Connecticut; the Ridgefield Alcohol and Drug Use Commission; the Regional Forum for Planning; and is a justice of the peace. She has been appeared dozens of times as a panelist and speaker, and has co-authored two publications.

She said she loves learning about the law, and because of an early affinity for probate law and issues involving children and vulnerable populations, she has become a go-to resource for the probate system, being invited to train probate judges on guardianship topics.

To learn more about the regional probate candidate, visit