Attorneys

Bertram R. Gelfand
Of Counsel

 

Judge Gelfand' s practice specializes in trusts and estates. He serves clients directly, and is available to the profession for consultations and as an expert. Judge Gelfand is also much sought after as an arbitrator and mediator.

Judge Gelfand was twice elected Judge of the Surrogate' s Court, Bronx County. He is the author of 138 officially reported decisions, many of which remain the seminal authority on a multiplicity of issues and continue to be frequently cited. During his judicial service, Judge Gelfand served for ten years as the representative of the Surrogates of the State of New York on the Judicial Conference. He was also a member of the State Commission on Judicial Compensation, by appointment of the Speaker of the Assembly.

On six occasions, the State Commission on Judicial Nominations presented Judge Gelfand to the Governor as one of a group of four to seven individuals found most highly qualified for appointment to be an Associate Judge of the Court of Appeals. The same Commission selected Judge Gelfand as one of nine nominees found most highly qualified to be appointed Chief Judge of the State of New York. Judge Gelfand' s other public service includes being a member of the Appeals Bureau of the Bronx County District Attorney' s office, a Member of the New York City Council, and Special Counsel to the New York City Department of Housing, Preservation and Development.

The recipient of numerous awards for professional, civic, and charitable work, Judge Gelfand is a veteran of the United States Army Adjutant General' s Corp and is also admitted to practice before the United States Supreme Court and the United States Court of Appeals, Second Circuit.

Publications

  • Judge Gelfand has written extensively on a wide range of legal topics.

Reported Cases

  • 139 officially reported decisions. Included in these cases are Matter of Lang, 76 Misc.2d 636; 35 N.Y.S.2d 884, rev' d 3-2 by App. Div. 45 A.D.2d 514, 360 N.Y.S.2d 422;
  • App. Div. reversed by Court of Appeals in Kleinberg, as Executor of Lang vs. Heller, 38 N.Y.2d 836, 382 N.Y.S.2d 49, on opinion of Surrogate, which case remains the seminal case on joint accounts
  • Estate of Escher, 94 Misc.2d 952, affirmed by Court of Appeals, which led to the statutory revision of the extent to which the principal of a trust can be invaded to pay for the health care of an income beneficiary whose care would otherwise be provided by the state; and numerous other decisions on guardianships, adoptions, and estate issues