ATTORNEYS

Anne C. Bederka

Phone: (212) 871-6960
Fax: (212) 818-1264
Email: abederka@gss-law.com
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Anne Bederka is a partner at Greenfield Stein & Senior, LLP. Ms. Bederka’s practice focuses on the representation of fiduciaries and beneficiaries in Surrogate’s Court proceedings and appeals, including contested probate proceedings, proceedings to determine the validity of trusts, contested accounting proceedings, proceedings for revocation of letters and other relief against fiduciaries, proceedings to determine the right of election, proceedings to determine the validity of claims, turnover proceedings, proceedings for advice and direction, and proceedings for construction and reformation of wills and trusts and cy pres relief, among others. Ms. Bederka has also served as a court-appointed discovery referee and guardian ad litem in a range of Surrogate’s Court matters, both contested and uncontested.

Ms. Bederka joined Greenfield Stein & Senior in 2008 after serving as Principal Law Clerk to Honorable Kristin Booth Glen in the New York County Surrogate’s Court. During her tenure at the Court, Ms. Bederka conferred with the Surrogate on legal issues, prepared confidential bench memoranda analyzing matters on the court’s calendar, advised court-attorney referees with respect to matters pending before the court, and presided over court conferences.

Before arriving at the Surrogate’s Court, Ms. Bederka was of counsel at Pillsbury Winthrop LLP (now Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman LLP), where she represented corporate and individual fiduciaries in contested and voluntary proceedings before the Surrogate’s Court and advised fiduciaries with respect to all matters of trust and estate administration.

Ms. Bederka has been a recurring panelist for the New York State Bar Association’s certified training program, “What You Need to Know as a Guardian ad Litem.” She is a co-author of the 2013-2016 editions of Harris 6th edition, New York Estates: Probate, Administration, and Litigation, and has written and lectured on a wide range of topics, including will and trust contests, evidentiary issues in trusts and estates litigation, conducting SCPA 1404 discovery, protecting wills from attack, fiduciary best practices, administering closely-held business interests and ethical issues for trusts and estates attorneys. She has lectured on trusts and estates litigation at Cornell Law School, Fordham Law School, and CUNY Law School.

Ms. Bederka is a member of the New York State Bar Association, where she was the former co-chair of the Diversity Committee for the Trusts & Estates Section.

Ms. Bederka graduated cum laude from Brooklyn Law School in 1993 and was admitted to practice law in New York in 1994. She received her Bachelor of Arts from Sarah Lawrence College in 1984, and her Master of Fine Arts from Columbia University in 1987.

Notable Cases

  • Small v. Mengoni, 191 A.D.3d 618 (1st Dep’t 2021)
  • Matter of Abram, 184 A.D.3d 426 (1st Dep’t 2020)
  • Matter of Warren, 2018 NYLJ LEXIS 2097 (Sur. Ct., New York Co. 2018)
  • Matter of Kirschenbaum, File No. 1227/B-2014 (Sur. Ct., Kings Co.) (Dec. 6, 2017 Decision After Trial)
  • Matter of Chamberlin, 135 A.D.3d 1052 (3rd Dep’t 2016)
  • Matter of Fitzgerald, 144 A.D.3d 906 (2nd Dep’t 2016)
  • Matter of Stern, N.Y.L.J., May 11, 2015, at 22, col. 1 (Sur. Ct., New York Co. 2015)
  • Matter of Martin, N.Y.L.J. 1202603926596, at *1 (Sur. Ct., New York Co. 2013)
  • Matter of Schlaeger, 74 A.D.3d 405 (1st Dep’t 2010)
  • Matter of Stralem, 303 A.D.2d 120 (2d Dep’t 2003)

Articles and Publications

  • Evidentiary Issues in Will Contests, Anne C. Bederka, New York State Bar Association, Estate Litigation: 1404 Examination & Contested Accountings, Dec. 2019
  • Conducting SCPA 1404 Discovery, Anne C. Bederka, New York State Bar Association, Estate Litigation: 1404 Examination & Contested Accountings, Dec. 2019
  • Status Determinations: Evidentiary Considerations, Anne C. Bederka, New York State Bar Association, Trusts and Estates Law Section Newsletter, 2009
  • Inter Vivos Gifts, Practical Skills: An Introduction to Estate Planning, Anne C. Bederka and Joanne Butler, New York State Bar Association, 2003
  • Will Drafting – The Fundamentals, Practical Skills: An Introduction to Estate Planning, Daniel J. McSwiggan and Anne C. Bederka, New York State Bar Association, 1999

Honors and Awards

Ms. Bederka has been selected by her peers as a New York Metro Super Lawyer in estate and trust litigation since 2014.