Brandon R. Sall at a glance
- Current role
- Surrogate
- Jurisdiction
- New York · State
- Judicial service
- Active
- Term and retention
- Current term ends 2030
Brandon R. Sall
Surrogate · Westchester County Surrogate's Court
Biography
Professional career
- Rothchild Esposito Himmelfarb Sher & Pearl, Associate, 1988 to 1990
- Jacobs Sieratski & Zinns, Associate, 1986 to 1988
Education
- B.B.A. — University of Miami — 1982
Additional information
- Law firm roles: Managing member of Sall, Geist, Schwarz & Jellinek (2014–present at time of appointment), partner at Sall & Geist (2012–2014), Gellert & Rodner (2004–2015), Schuman, Sall & Geist (2002–2011), and Schuman & Sall (1992–2002)
- The Surrogate of Westchester County, New York, appointed in 2015 by Governor Andrew Cuomo and elected for a term through 2030, presiding over probate, guardianship, and related matters in the 9th Judicial District
- Surrogate, Surrogate's Court, Westchester County, Elected, 2016 to 2025
- Surrogate, Westchester County Surroagte's Court, Appointed by Governor Andrew Cuomo, 2015 to 2015
- Sall Geist Schwarz & Jellinek, PLLC, Managing Member, 2014 to 2015
- Law Office of Brandon R. Sall, 1991 to 1992
- Part of the 9th Judicial District, covering Westchester, Dutchess, Orange, Putnam, and Rockland counties
- Westchester County Surrogate’s Court in White Plains, NY, which handles cases involving estates, wills, probate, guardianship, adoptions, and certain administrative matters.
Applicable Court Rules & Procedures
Recording and broadcasting
Statewide
New York statewide rules require permission before photographing, filming, videotaping, audiotaping, broadcasting, or telecasting in court facilities, including courtrooms.
Taking photographs, films or videotapes, or audiotaping, broadcasting or telecasting, in a courthouse including any courtroom, office or hallway thereof, at any time or on any occasion, whether or not the court is in session, is forbidden, unless permission of the Chief Administrator of the Courts or a designee of the Chief Administrator is first obtainedPart 29: Electronic Recording and Audio-Visual Coverage in Court Facilities and of Court Proceedings ↗
Exhibits
Statewide
The official Guide to New York Evidence identifies court control over presentation of evidence as a statewide evidence topic; counsel should expect the assigned judge to control the mode and order of proof.
1.07. COURT CONTROL OVER PRESENTATION OF EVIDENCEGuide to New York Evidence: Article 1, General Provisions and Court's Role ↗
Published courtroom rules
Judge and named-part rules
Published judge / part rules (38 excerpts)
See document heading and cited passage; do not apply outside the issuing part or proceeding.
Official rules document ↗ · Collected 2026-10-27
Filing and working copies
With certain exceptions, E-filing is mandatory in the Westchester County Surrogate’s Court for all Administration, Probate, Accounting, and Miscellaneous matters. Surrogate’s Court proceedings are filed through the New York State Courts E-Filing system (NYSCEF), which can be found at https://iapps.courts.state.ny.us/fbem/LoginFormSevlet. All submissions to the court, including proposed orders, proposed judgments, and letters, must be electronically filed. An
Source page 1Filing and working copies
original death certificate and Last Will and Testament, if applicable, must be delivered to the court 48 hours after a case has been E-filed.
Source page 2Filing and working copies
All original documents that are E-filed must be retained by the filer or their attorney, pursuant to Uniform Rules for Surrogate’s Court (22 NYCRR) §207.4-a(f)(2).
Source page 2Filing and working copies
All parties must familiarize themselves with the statewide E-filing Uniform Rules for Surrogate’s Court (22 NYCRR) §207.4- a and §207.4-aa, available at https://iappscontent.courts.state.ny.us/NYSCEF/live/legislation.htm, and the Westchester County E-filing Protocol.
Source page 2Filing and working copies
General questions about E-filing should be addressed to the E-filing Resource Center at efile@courts.state.ny.us. Specific questions relating to local procedures should be addressed to Eugene Yates, Chief Clerk, at (914) 824-5640 or Vera Dedvukaj, Deputy Chief Clerk, at (914) 824-5630.
Source page 2Filing and working copies
An affidavit or affirmation of service must be filed at least (2) days prior to the return date of the Citation (Uniform Rules for Surrogate’s Court §207.7(c)). The affidavit or affirmation must clearly state the name and address of the person served, the date said person was served, and what documents were served.
Source page 2Conferences and appearances
Proofs of service filed late may not be reviewed prior to the return date, and late filing may necessitate an additional appearance at a future court date and a delay in the processing of petitions. (Since the court’s return date is usually on a Wednesday, proof of service must be filed by Monday.) Westchester County Surrogate’s Court Richard J. Daronco Westchester County Courthouse-19th Floor, 111 Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard, White Plains, NY 10601 Phone (914) 824-5656 Email VirtualWestchesterSurrogatesCourt@nycourts.gov
Source page 2Conferences and appearances
An appearance is made by pleading, by waiver, by serving upon the attorney for the petitioner and filing with the clerk a signed notice of appearance, by appearance in person in open court (see SCPA 401(2)), and where a party is a non-domiciliary or has not been personally served with process, authorization to appear pursuant to SCPA 401 (3). All notices of appearance and appearances by pleading shall contain an email address and best phone number for the appearing counsel or the self-represented party.
Source page 3Communications with chambers
1. Correspondence: All correspondence to the court shall be copied to all parties and set forth the name and file number of the case to which it pertains. For all cases that are commenced through E-filing, correspondence must be electronically filed. Correspondence from court personnel received by email may be responded to by email. Unless otherwise directed, the court should not be copied on correspondence between attorneys and/or self-represented litigants. Such correspondence should not be submitted, and it will not be considered in determining anything; the court does not permit litigation by correspondence.
Source page 3Communications with chambers
2. Mail: A conformed copy of an order, judgment or decree will be mailed back to the submitting party only when it is accompanied by a sufficiently stamped, self-addressed envelope.
Source page 3Adjournments
3. Telephone Calls: Telephone calls shall be limited to situations requiring immediate attention which cannot be addressed by written correspondence. Requests for adjournments WILL NOT be entertained by telephone (see below for procedure).
Source page 3Communications with chambers
4. Ex Parte Communications: Ex parte communications with the law department and chambers are strictly prohibited, except where an Order to Show Cause (OSC) is submitted for signature, or upon consent of all parties during settlement negotiations.
Source page 3Conferences and appearances
Unless otherwise advised, Surrogate Sall’s court conferences and calendar calls are held in person at the Westchester County Surrogate’s Courthouse located at 111 Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Blvd., 18th Floor, Courtroom 1800, White Plains, New York 10601. The court calendar is regularly called on Wednesdays at 9:30 am. The failure to appear at a scheduled calendar call or conference may result in a default pursuant to Uniform Civil Rules for the Supreme Court
Source page 3Adjournments
1. Scheduling: Counsel/parties should address questions about scheduling appearances or adjourning appearances to the Calendar Clerk, Iesha Etheridge, at ietherid@nycourts.gov.
Source page 4Adjournments
2. Adjournments: As a matter of general practice, requests for adjournments of motions, conferences, and hearings and trials are discouraged. NOTE: A request for an adjournment, even if on consent of all parties, is NOT effective unless and until approved by the court. Applications for adjournments must be made in writing and received by the court NOT LESS THAN 48 HOURS in advance of the scheduled calendar or conference date, etc., and shall state: (1) good cause why the adjournment is being sought; and (2) whether the other parties consent or object to the application. The party seeking the adjournment may also suggest an approximate time period for the adjournment, and/or a date certain to which the calendar or conference date, etc., should be adjourned.
Source page 4Adjournments
All communications with the court must be contemporaneously copied to all other parties and self-represented litigants in accordance with the correspondence rules above. All requests for adjournments of a trial, fact finding, or hearing, submitted after the scheduling of the same, shall be subjected to the strictest scrutiny.
Source page 4Conferences and appearances
3. Appearance by Counsel with Knowledge and Authority: All counsel who appear before the court, including per diem counsel, must be familiar with the case and be fully authorized to enter into agreements as to both substantive and procedural matters on behalf of their clients.
Source page 4Conferences and appearances
Although counsel may file a notice of appearance as trial counsel to the attorney of record, attorneys may not appear as co-counsel or “of counsel” to the attorney of record. All counsel and self-represented parties must be on time for all scheduled appearances.
Source page 4Artificial intelligence
4. Technology: No party or counsel shall use any device, to record, videotape, or otherwise electronically transcribe any part of a court appearance or conference. The use of AI meeting assistants or similar systems during any court appearance or conference is also prohibited.
Source page 4Motion practice
1. Motion Calendar and Appearances: All motions/proceedings brought on by notice of motion shall be made returnable before the court, for Surrogate Sall, on any WEDNESDAY the court is in session (as outlined above); and for the Acting Surrogate on the third THURSDAY of the month. Appearances are not required on motions unless directed by the court or unless oral argument is requested in writing and granted.
Source page 4Filing and working copies
2. Submissions generally: Counsel and self-represented litigants shall make sure that citations used in papers submitted to the court are accurate and that the matters cited stand for the propositions for which they are cited.
Source page 4Motion practice
a. Summary Judgment Motions: Summary judgment motions shall be filed with the court and served upon all other parties no later than 120 days after the filing of the Note of Issue. If an application to extend the time to make such a motion has been granted by the court, the moving party must so state in the motion papers.
Source page 5Motion practice
b. Motions – Deposition Testimony: Any reference to deposition testimony must cite to the exact page and line numbers, and the entire official transcript must be submitted as an exhibit.
Source page 5Motion practice
c. Disclosure Motions: It is the policy of this court to make itself and its staff available to resolve disputes related to pretrial disclosure. Therefore, if a dispute over disclosure arises that cannot be resolved by the parties’ own diligent, good faith efforts, the aggrieved party shall notify the court and a conference will be scheduled.
Source page 5Motion practice
Unless directed by the court, a motion related to disclosure is not to be made by any party, in any type of proceeding.
Source page 5Motion practice
d. Confidential Information: Motion papers must comply with the rules to redact confidential personal information (Uniform Rules for Sur Ct [22 NYCRR] § 207.64). The court may, sua sponte, order a party to remove confidential personal information from their papers or to re-submit their papers with the information redacted.
Source page 5Motion practice
Requests to file documents under seal or in redacted form shall be made by order to show cause. Any request for provisional sealing prior to the determination of the motion shall be included in the proposed order to show cause.
Source page 5Motion practice
The proposed order to show cause shall be accompanied by (1) a memorandum of law setting forth the factual and legal basis for sealing or redacting each document or each piece of information, citing applicable law and supporting authority, and (2) an affirmation or affidavit based on personal knowledge attesting to the factual basis for sealing or redaction.
Source page 5Filing and working copies
All such proposed orders to show cause and supporting papers shall be hand delivered to the court to the attention of Peggy Mui, Court Clerk Specialist in the Miscellaneous Department. It is important that these documents are not e-filed and are labeled accordingly.
Source page 5Conferences and appearances
H. Settlement Conferences At a settlement conference, all counsel must be present and prepared to engage in good faith settlement negotiations. All counsel must be vested with the full authority to negotiate and settle the matter.
Source page 6Communications with chambers
All parties are to either be present or available by telephone. A party represented by an attorney without authority to negotiate and settle the matter may be considered in default, and the court may issue appropriate orders pursuant to CPLR 3215 and Uniform Civil Rules for the Supreme Court & the County Court (22 NYCRR) §202.27.
Source page 6Discovery
I. Pre-Trial Conferences Upon the completion of discovery, the petitioner shall file the note of issue, certificate of readiness, and a statement of issues (Uniform Rules for Sur Ct [22 NYCRR] § 207.29), or if it is a jury trial, a proposed order framing issues, if it has not previously been filed (SCPA § 502(4)). The court will then schedule a pretrial conference in advance of trial for the purpose of marking exhibits and resolving any outstanding issues that might impede the smooth course of trial.
Source page 6Conferences and appearances
Each attorney and each self-represented party shall provide a numbered list of exhibits in Word format to the court prior to the pre-marking conference. Each entry shall concisely describe the exhibit and include the number of pages. Counsel for the respective parties and any self-represented party shall appear, and each party shall provide a copy of each proposed exhibit for each appearing party, as well as two copies of each proposed exhibit for the court.
Source page 6Trial exhibits and witnesses
The exhibit list shall include two columns one labeled “ID Only” and the other labeled “Evidence.” Counsel for the parties and any self-represented party shall also provide a list of witnesses they expect to call at trial.
Source page 6Trial exhibits and witnesses
1. Jury Charges: In all jury trials, a complete list of proposed requests to charge shall be submitted to the court two weeks prior to the commencement of trial, with copies to be provided to all other counsel and self-represented parties. If deviations from, or additions to, the Pattern Jury Instructions (PJI) are requested, the full text of such requests must be submitted in writing, together with any supporting legal precedent. In addition, such proposals shall be submitted in Word format.
Source page 6Trial exhibits and witnesses
2. Verdict Sheet: The parties shall jointly prepare and submit a verdict sheet to the court. If agreement cannot be reached as to the same, each party shall prepare and submit a proposed verdict sheet to the court and other parties. A proposed verdict sheet must be in a final typewritten form sufficient to submit to the jury. The proposed verdict sheet shall also be submitted in Word format.
Source page 6Motion practice
3. Post-Trial Submissions: Motions brought by a party after a jury trial pursuant to CPLR 4403 or CPLR 4404 must be supported by a copy of the trial transcript. Unless otherwise directed by the court, in accordance with the schedule set by the court at the conclusion, the parties shall jointly submit a trial transcript, and each party shall prepare and submit a post-trial Westchester County Surrogate’s Court Richard J. Daronco Westchester County Courthouse-19th Floor, 111 Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard, White Plains, NY 10601 Phone (914) 824-5656 Email VirtualWestchesterSurrogatesCourt@nycourts.gov
Source page 6Adjournments
4. Settled and Discontinued Cases: Counsel shall immediately notify the court of a settled or discontinued matter. Following the initial notification, counsel shall file a fully executed original stipulation of discontinuance with the court, in person or by mail.
Source page 7Shared court rules
22 NYCRR Part 207 — Uniform Rules Surrogates Court
Westchester County Surrogate's Court
Surrogate's Court proceedings
Official source ↗ · Collected 2026-10-27Part 29: Electronic Recording and Audio-Visual Coverage in Court Facilities and of Court Proceedings
Westchester County Surrogate's Court
Scope is limited to the court class in the source claim. Shared court context only; case-type restrictions, exceptions, later amendments and case orders apply. This is not a personal preference or a complete rules inventory.
Official source ↗ · Collected 2026-07-26Part 29: Electronic Recording and Audio-Visual Coverage in Court Facilities and of Court Proceedings
Westchester County Surrogate's Court
Scope is limited to the court class in the source claim. Shared court context only; case-type restrictions, exceptions, later amendments and case orders apply. This is not a personal preference or a complete rules inventory.
Official source ↗ · Collected 2026-07-26Sources
Identity source checked July 26, 2026.
Biography sources checked August 2, 2026.
New York State Unified Court System Judicial Directory official judicial roster
Identity source · HTML · Source checked July 26, 2026
View New York State Unified Court System Judicial Directory official judicial roster ↗Part 29: Electronic Recording and Audio-Visual Coverage in Court Facilities and of Court Proceedings
Statewide source · HTML · Source checked July 26, 2026
View Part 29: Electronic Recording and Audio-Visual Coverage in Court Facilities and of Court Proceedings ↗Guide to New York Evidence: Article 1, General Provisions and Court's Role
Statewide source · HTML · Source checked July 26, 2026
View Guide to New York Evidence: Article 1, General Provisions and Court's Role ↗