Insights driven by a team with decades of experience.

Brian R. Heitner is the managing partner of Heitner Kaufman P.C. He was a Partner is his prior firm, Seltzer Sussman Heitner LLP, since 2007. Brian has focused his legal career on the areas of trusts and estate, guardianship law, real estate and corporate matters, as well as general civil litigation, from the time he first started practice in 1993. Since then, Brian developed his practice to become a well-known and well-respected practitioner in the trusts and estates field, with a particular focus on estate litigation, and the specialized area of Article 81 guardianship law and litigation. Since 2010, Brian has been named to the list of New York Super Lawyers each and every year, signifying his high degree of professional achievement and peer recognition.

In addition to routine estate administration in uncontested matters, Brian is a powerful advocate for his clients in contested estates. He has represented petitioners and respondents in litigated estates relative to probate matters, will contests, accounting proceedings, and discovery and turnover proceedings in the various Surrogate’s Courts on Long Island and the City of New York. Brian has also represented petitioners and respondents in hundreds of other proceedings under MHL Article 81. He is certified by the Office of Court Administration as Court Evaluator, Counsel for an Alleged Incapacitated Person, Guardian, and Guardian ad Litem, and has served in each of those capacities pursuant to appointment by the Supreme Court of the State of New York and its Surrogate’s Courts. Brian’s knowledge of the law and strong but practical approach to litigation has made him a go-to attorney for other attorneys who lack the expertise in these areas.

Brian was the contributing author/editor for the 2005 and 2006 update to the Thomson/West Publication, Kassoff, Elder Law and Guardianship in New York. He regularly lectures to attorneys, other professionals, and the general public on estate and guardianship issues and has served as a moderator and frequent panelist for Article 81 guardianship programs, many of which he designed and developed for local bar associations.

Brian also represents the business community, including family owned businesses to multi-million dollar corporations with respect to formation, management and policy, strategic acquisitions, employment law disputes, and financing. He has also represented numerous litigants in general commercial actions as well as in litigation over real property, including partition actions and fraudulent conveyances.

Brian is a Member of: the New York State Bar Association and its Trusts and Estates Law Section and Elder Law Section (www.nysba.org); the Queens County Bar Association, its Surrogate’s Court Committee and Committee for the Elderly and Disabled (www.qcba.org) of which he is and has been Chairperson for more than 10 years; the Nassau County Bar Association and its Elder Law Committee and Surrogate’s Court Estates and Trusts Committee (www.nassaubar.org); and the Nassau Lawyers Association of Long Island, Inc. (www.nassaulawyersassociation.com) of which he is a past President and previously served as its Chairman of the Board, First Vice-President and Treasurer.

Brian graduated from Binghamton University where he received a Bachelor of Science degree from the School of Management. He obtained his Juris Doctorate from Brooklyn Law School. He is admitted to practice in the State of New York, State of Connecticut (retired) and the Federal District Courts for the Southern and Eastern Districts of New York.

Scott Kaufman is a leading authority in Surrogate’s Court litigation and administration and Article 81 guardianship proceedings. His extensive experience provides clients with a rare and powerful advantage, built upon a distinguished career that includes service as a prosecutor, a court attorney, and a trusted court-appointed fiduciary.

Before entering private practice, Scott served as a Court Attorney in the Law Department of the Surrogate’s Court of Queens County. This role provided him with invaluable, firsthand insight into the court’s internal procedures and judicial priorities, a perspective he now leverages to effectively guide his clients’ matters. His public service career began as an Assistant District Attorney in Queens County.

Scott’s exceptional reputation has led to numerous appointments by the judiciary to handle sensitive and complex matters. He is regularly entrusted to serve as a Guardian ad Litem, Court Evaluator, Counsel for Alleged Incapacitated Persons, and Counsel to the Public Administrator. He was also a court examiner in the First Judicial Department, responsible for reviewing the annual accountings filed by guardians.

A recognized leader in his field, Scott serves as the Vice Chairman of the Queens County Bar Association’s Committee on Surrogate’s Court Practice. He is a frequent lecturer at Continuing Legal Education (CLE) seminars and has authored articles on Surrogate’s Court practice for the Queens County Bar Bulletin. He received his Juris Doctor from the City University of New York School of Law and his undergraduate degree from Queens College.

Stephen Seltzer is one of the founding Partners of Seltzer Sussman Heitner LLP. Stephen is both a certified public accountant and an attorney. He is a recognized expert in the fields of trusts and estates, income, estate and fiduciary tax, and real estate and corporate law, and has been called upon to testify as an expert by other law firms and accountants. Stephen’s extensive knowledge of the law, and of accounting practices, along with his personal and practical approach to issues, are the hallmarks of his practice, leading to representation of many of the same clients for decades.

In addition to his law practice, Stephen was also a partner in the accounting firm Druckman & Hill and was a founding partner of Loeffler Seltzer & Floch, CPAs. In 1969, he and Martin Sussman combined their talents to create Seltzer & Sussman, the predecessor to our current firm.

Stephen is a past President of Temple Beth Sholom in Roslyn, New York; a past President of Fresh Meadow Country Club in Great Neck, New York; and a past Chairman of the New York State Society of CPAs, Estate Tax Committee. He has lectured extensively for the Estate Planning Section of the New York State Society of CPAs and he has written numerous articles for the CPA Journal.

Stephen graduated from Lehigh University with a Bachelor of Science degree in accounting. He obtained his law degree and a Masters Degree (LLM) in taxation from New York University School of Law.

Andrew M. Pettersen is an attorney and Of Counsel to Seltzer Sussman Heitner LLP. Andrew specializes in the following practice areas: (a) all areas of commercial real estate, including retail and office leasing throughout the United States and the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico; and acquisitions and sales, and the financing and refinancing, of commercial properties throughout the United States (including the acquisition and financing of unsold shares in cooperative buildings allocated to commercial units); (b) complex blended real estate/corporate transactions, including the acquisition of leasehold interests, trade names and leasehold fixtures in connection with retail chain stores; and (c) preparation of wills and estate planning.

Andrew graduated from the State University of New York at Albany where he received a Bachelor of Arts degree and graduated Magna Cum Laude. He obtained his Juris Doctorate from St. John’s University School of Law and graduated in the top 10% of his class. He is admitted to practice in the States of New York and Connecticut.

Massimo A. Santoli is an attorney and has been Of Counsel to Seltzer Sussman Heitner LLP since 2005. Massimo concentrates on sophisticated estate planning and administration, wealth preservation and business succession planning, business transactions, tax and surrogate’s court matters.

Massimo is an attorney and Certified Public Accountant. He is a graduate of St. John’s University, Summa Cum Laude, where he obtained his Bachelor of Science degree in accounting; a graduate of Hofstra Law School, Cum Laude, where he received his Juris Doctorate; and a graduate of New York University where he obtained a Master of Laws degree in taxation.

Massimo was formerly a Senior Associate in the Tax and Legal Services Division of the accounting firm PriceWaterhouseCoopers and was a Tax Consultant for Deloitte & Touche. Prior to associating with Seltzer Sussman Heitner, Massimo was associated with the estates departments of some of Long Island’s most well-known law firms.

Christine M. Wallace has been an associate at Heitner Kaufman P.C. since its formation. From the time she was admitted to the New York State bar, Christine has practiced in the area of trusts and estates, including representing petitioners and respondents in probate and administration proceedings, in estate litigation, and in other Surrogate's Court proceedings. Christine also has experience in preparing estate plans. Furthermore, she is experienced in representing petitioners and respondents in Mental Hygiene Law Article 81 proceedings to appoint a guardian, if appropriate, for persons in need of a guardian or incapacitated people. Additionally, Christine is certified to serve as Guardian ad Litem by the Office of Court Administration, and has served as such by appointment by the Surrogate's Courts of the State of New York.

Christine graduated from Yale University with a Bachelor of Arts degree in psychology and subsequently attended, and graduated from, St. John's University School of Law. She is admitted to practice law in the States of New York and New Jersey and in the Federal District Courts for the Southern and Eastern Districts of New York. Prior to joining Seltzer Sussman Heitner, Christine also practiced general civil litigation, real estate matters, and trademark law.

Julianna Jackson is an enthusiastic new attorney at Heitner Kaufman PC. She is a graduate of Fordham University’s Gabelli School of Business where she obtained her Bachelor of Science degree in finance and a graduate of Hofstra Law School where she received her Juris Doctorate.

Julianna passed the July 2023 Bar Exam with impressive results, scoring in the 90th percentile. She is now officially admitted to practice law in the State of New York and is actively working towards expanding her credentials to include New Jersey and Pennsylvania. Julianna is eager to begin her law career at Heitner Kaufman.

Anthony Roman-Lann is an Associate Attorney at Heitner Kaufman, P.C., representing clients in all aspects of Surrogate’s Court litigation and related estate disputes throughout New York. His practice encompasses the full range of estate litigation, including will contests, intestate disputes, turnover proceedings, ejectment actions, and fiduciary conflicts.

Anthony brings to the firm a strong litigation background from his tenure as an Assistant District Attorney in Suffolk County, where he managed a high-volume caseload from inception through trial. As an ADA, he handled pre-trial hearings, negotiated complex plea resolutions, drafted motions and search warrants, presented cases to the grand jury, and conducted multiple bench and jury trials. His prosecutorial experience sharpened his courtroom advocacy, negotiation skills, and ability to distill complex factual records into persuasive arguments which he now applies to the firm’s estate litigation matters.

Anthony earned his Juris Doctor from the Maurice A. Deane School of Law at Hofstra University, where he received the Best Advocate Award in the Dispute Resolution Society Intramural Competition and the Public Service Award for completing over 750 hours of community service, primarily as a Fellow with the Hofstra Veterans Law Clinic.

He is admitted to practice law in the State of New York and in the Federal District Courts, and is based in the firm’s Long Island office.

Kim received her Bachelor of Arts Degree from St. John University in 2003. Thereafter, she received her Master of Science Degree from Long Island University in 2005. Kim has over 17 years of paralegal experience focusing primarily on Surrogate’s Court matters. She is an expert genealogist and a member of the International Genealogical Society.