Gregory Salant, family and matrimonial attorney and a partner at Harold, Salant, Strassfield & Rotbard, LLP, represents people who live in Chappaqua and elsewhere in the Town of New Castle in divorce matters. Chappaqua is a hamlet in that town, not its own village or city. His office is in White Plains, at 81 Main Street, Suite 205 — the same city as the court where Westchester County divorce cases are filed. There is no firm office in Chappaqua.
A divorce for a Chappaqua resident is not filed in New Castle Town Court. It is a case in the New York State Supreme Court for Westchester County, which sits in White Plains. The information on this page is general information about New York law and where those cases are heard. It is not legal advice, and it is not a prediction of how any particular case will be resolved.
Where a Chappaqua divorce is filed
Westchester County Supreme Court sits at the Richard J. Daronco Courthouse, 111 Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard, White Plains, NY 10601. A case is typically started by filing and serving a summons with notice, or a summons and verified complaint. New York also has residency requirements. Whether they are met depends on the facts and can be reviewed in a consultation.
New Castle Town Court is at Town Hall, 200 South Greeley Avenue, in Chappaqua. It hears traffic, criminal, and small-claims matters in the town. It does not grant divorces, annulments, or judgments of separation. The Town of New Castle also includes the hamlet of Millwood; residents of the town likewise file a Westchester divorce in White Plains, not in Town Court.
Court conferences, many appearances, and meetings with counsel are also typically in White Plains. Chappaqua Station is on Metro-North’s Harlem Line, north of White Plains, which is also a Harlem Line stop. That may be useful for travel to the courthouse or to the office at 81 Main Street, Suite 205, but it does not change where the case is filed. Families often have to plan around school calendars, work schedules, and travel to the county seat.
Many New York divorces are brought on the ground often called no-fault, in Domestic Relations Law § 170(7): that the relationship has broken down irretrievably for at least six months, stated under oath. On that ground, the court does not grant a judgment until the financial and parenting issues have been resolved or determined and incorporated into the judgment. The statute lists seven grounds in all. More detail is on the Westchester divorce and White Plains divorce pages.
Family Court in Westchester, and how it differs from a divorce case
Family Court does not grant divorces, annulments, or judgments of separation. Those actions are brought in Supreme Court. Westchester County Family Court currently has courthouses in White Plains, at 111 Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard; in Yonkers, at 131 Warburton Avenue, 3rd floor; and in New Rochelle, at 26 Garden Street, 3rd floor. Which location hears a particular Family Court matter should be confirmed with the court. This page does not assign Chappaqua or New Castle residents to one of those three courthouses.
When custody, parenting time, or support is part of a divorce, those issues are generally addressed in the Supreme Court case in White Plains. Some family matters that are not part of a divorce may be heard in Family Court. Which court is the right place depends on the facts and can be discussed in a consultation.
Custody, parenting time, and school continuity
When a divorcing couple has children, custody, parenting time, and child support are usually part of the Supreme Court case. New York courts decide those issues under a best-interests standard. Arrangements vary. There is no special rule that a child must remain in a particular school or district, or that a midweek schedule must look a certain way.
Questions that often come up include where each parent will live, how exchanges fit a school day or a long commute, and how the child’s existing school and community will be taken into account. Chappaqua Central School District is the local public school district for many families in Chappaqua. Some children in the Town of New Castle attend other schools. Those facts can matter in a particular case; they do not dictate a result. A fuller discussion of parenting cases is on the child custody and parenting time page.
The marital home
The marital residence is often both a significant asset and a practical question: who stays in the home while the case is pending, whether it will be sold or one spouse will buy out the other, and how taxes, the mortgage, and other carrying costs are handled. Those questions depend on title, any separate-property contributions, the equity and debt, and the rest of the marital estate. There is no rule that one spouse automatically keeps the house.
New York distributes marital property equitably — fairly under statutory factors, not necessarily equally, and not under community-property rules. Among the factors the court may consider is the need of a custodial parent to occupy or own the marital residence. That is one factor among others, not a guarantee. How a home is classified and valued is discussed further on the high-net-worth divorce page.
Professional, business, and other income
Some — not all — Chappaqua divorces involve income that is not a single regular paycheck: a professional practice, a closely held business, bonuses, deferred compensation, or equity awards. Support and the division of property can turn on how that income and those interests are identified and documented. New York law does not use a single dollar test that makes a case “high-net-worth.” The work typically includes tax returns and business or equity records, distinguishing marital from separate property, valuing interests that do not have a simple market price, and addressing support when income is above the statutory guideline caps. Those topics are discussed on the high-net-worth divorce page.
Uncontested and contested paths
If you and your spouse have reached agreement on the issues that need to be resolved — or are close to doing so — the case may be able to proceed as an uncontested divorce. The papers are still submitted to Supreme Court in White Plains, and the court may ask for more information or an appearance. When the issues are resolved, this path is often more efficient than litigating open disputes. It is not a discounted or lesser form of representation.
A divorce is contested when the spouses have not agreed on one or more issues — parenting time, the home, other property, or support. A contested Westchester case often moves through commencement and service, a preliminary conference, financial disclosure, temporary applications, settlement discussions, and, if needed, trial in White Plains. Some cases settle before trial; others are decided by the court. There is no typical timeline or result.
What to bring to a consultation
To discuss a divorce matter with Gregory Salant, schedule a consultation or call (914) 683-2500. Please do not send confidential or detailed case information through an unreviewed website form. Contacting the firm through this website does not, by itself, create an attorney-client relationship.
Bring any papers you have received, existing agreements or court orders, and a short list of questions. Useful records, if available, include recent tax returns, a deed or mortgage statement, pay or equity-award documents, account statements, and, if relevant, business or practice financials. Incomplete records should not keep you from asking for a consultation.
Schedule a consultation · (914) 683-2500
Gregory Salant, Partner, Harold, Salant, Strassfield & Rotbard, LLP
81 Main Street, Suite 205, White Plains, NY 10601
(914) 683-2500 · gsalant@haroldsalant.com
Frequently asked questions
If I live in Chappaqua, do I file for divorce in Chappaqua?
No. Chappaqua is a hamlet in the Town of New Castle, not its own town or village. A divorce is filed in the New York State Supreme Court. For Westchester County, that court sits in White Plains, at 111 Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard. New Castle Town Court, at 200 South Greeley Avenue in Chappaqua, does not grant divorces.
Which Family Court location serves Chappaqua?
Westchester County Family Court has courthouses in White Plains, Yonkers, and New Rochelle. The location for a particular Family Court matter should be confirmed with the court. Family Court does not grant divorces. When custody or support is part of a divorce, those issues are generally addressed in the Supreme Court case in White Plains.
Does one spouse automatically keep the marital home?
No. Whether the home is sold, whether one spouse buys out the other, and who lives there while the case is pending are fact-specific questions. In dividing marital property, the court may consider, among other statutory factors, the need of a custodial parent to occupy or own the marital residence. That is not a guarantee.
How do school schedules and parenting time come up in a custody case?
Courts decide custody and parenting time under a best-interests standard. Questions about where a child will live, which school the child will attend, and how a midweek or school-year schedule can work often arise. They are considered with the rest of the facts. There is no rule that a child must remain in a particular district.
Serving Westchester, Rockland, Putnam, Orange and Dutchess Counties, and the Bronx, Manhattan and the other New York City counties.
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