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 is a graduate of Queens College and received his Juris Doctor from City University of New York Law School at Queens College in 1993. Scott is a well-known and well respected practitioner in both Surrogate’s Court Practice and Guardianship. He is a former Assistant District Attorney in Queens County and has also served as a Court Attorney in the Law Department of the Surrogate’s Court of Queens County. Mr. Kaufman has been appointed and has served as Guardian ad Litem and as counsel to the Public Administrator.

He is also a former court examiner assigned to review annual accounting of Guardians in the 1st Judicial Department. Mr. Kaufman has also been appointed and has served as Court Evaluator and counsel for alleged incapacitated persons. Mr. Kaufman currently serves as the Vice Chairman of the Queens County Bar Association’s Committee on Surrogate’s Court Practice. He is a frequent lecturer for the Bar Association sponsored Continuing Legal Education Seminars in the areas of Surrogate’s Court Practice and Guardianship. As a Queens Surrogate’s Court Attorney, Scott has also been published in the Queens County Bar Bulletin on Queens Surrogate’s Court Practice.

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.

With over thirty years of legal experience, Brian P. Schechter focuses his practice on all phases of litigation, trusts and estates law, elder law, bankruptcy and real estate transactions. He has represented clients in all phases of litigation in all courts of Long Island and New York City. Brian has extensive appellate experience arguing cases and being on brief on various matters before the New York State Court of Appeals (People v. McKiernan, 84 N.Y.2d 915; People v. Letterlough, 86 N.Y.2d 259); Second Circuit Court of Appeals (Howard v. Senkowski, 986 F.2d 24); as well as many matters before the New York State Appellate Division, 2nd Department.

He was admitted to practice law in the State of New York in 1991, as well as the Second Circuit Court of Appeals and the United States District Courts for the Eastern and Southern Districts of New York. He received his Juris Doctor from Brooklyn Law School and a Bachelor of Arts from the State University of New York at Binghamton.

Brian is a Member of: the New York State Bar Association and its Trust and Estates Law Section and Elder Law and Special Needs Section; the Nassau County Bar Association and its Elder Law Committee and Surrogate’s Court Estates and Trusts Committee.

Brian is known by his clients and in the legal profession as an attorney who is very approachable and always working toward resolution. But when resolution is not possible, his skills as an experienced litigator make him a well-rounded advocate for his clients. He lives on Long Island with his wife and 2 children, where he has been involved in numerous community organizations.

Christine M. Wallace has been an associate attorney at Seltzer Sussman Heitner since 2019. 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.

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.