Town Hall for the Town of Cortlandt is at 1 Heady Street, Cortlandt Manor, NY 10567. The Town Justice Court is at that same address, on the Town’s official court page. A divorce is not a Heady Street filing.
The Town’s official profile states that Cortlandt includes two incorporated villages, Croton-on-Hudson and Buchanan, and several hamlets including Montrose, Crugers, and Verplanck. Croton-on-Hudson is covered on the Croton-on-Hudson divorce page. Buchanan is a village as well; its official contact page lists a Village Justice at the Municipal Building, 236 Tate Avenue, Buchanan, NY 10511. For residents of the unincorporated Town, including those hamlets: Village residents remain residents of the Town of Cortlandt; the local government that provides village services does not create a second divorce court.
The New York State Supreme Court for Westchester County, at the Richard J. Daronco Courthouse, 111 Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard, White Plains, NY 10601, is the court that can grant a divorce, an annulment, or a judgment of separation.
People who live in the unincorporated Town can consult Gregory Salant, a partner at Harold, Salant, Strassfield & Rotbard, LLP, about divorce and related family matters. Meetings are held at 81 Main Street, Suite 205, in White Plains, the city where Westchester County divorce cases are heard. The firm does not maintain an office in the Town.
Town Court at 1 Heady Street
On the Town’s official court page, the Justice Court hears matters under the Penal Law and the Vehicle and Traffic Law, parking cases, town-ordinance cases, civil and small-claims cases, and summary proceedings. It has no authority to dissolve a marriage.
Living in Cortlandt Manor, in Montrose, in Crugers, or in Verplanck does not move the matrimonial case into Town Court, and living in one of the Town’s villages does not keep it out of Supreme Court.
Cortlandt Station
Cortlandt Station appears on the MTA’s Hudson Line list. The firm’s office, and the courthouse, are in White Plains, a city served by the Harlem Line. The existence of the station does not change the court that grants a divorce.
School sites in three districts
The Town’s official schools page lists school sites in the Town from Lakeland Central School District, Hendrick Hudson School District, and Croton-Harmon Union Free School District. Lakeland’s official site gives an address of 1086 East Main Street, Shrub Oak, NY 10588. Hendrick Hudson’s official contact page lists 61 Trolley Road, Montrose, NY 10548. The district for any particular home should be confirmed by address. A hamlet name, or a school building in the Town, is not a custody decision.
When a divorce involves children, Supreme Court typically decides custody, parenting time, and child support in the same action. The standard is the best interests of the child. A current school placement may be relevant evidence. The law does not require that a child remain in one of those districts, and it does not award equal parenting time as a matter of course. The child custody and parenting time page discusses that standard further.
What New York does with a house and other assets
Classification comes first. Under Domestic Relations Law § 236(B), marital property is then distributed by equitable distribution — fairly, not under a community-property formula, and not necessarily in equal shares.
A house in the unincorporated Town, a retirement account earned during the marriage, or a brokerage account may have to be classified and, if marital, distributed. Title in one spouse’s name, or an address near Cortlandt Station, does not finish that work. Separate property is generally not divided. It can lose that status if commingled. An increase in the value of separate property is marital to the extent it is due to the other spouse's contributions or efforts. More detail on substantial estates is on the high-net-worth divorce page.
The papers, the grounds, and residence
A summons with notice, or a summons and verified complaint, is filed and then served. That is how the case begins. New York does not use a petition for dissolution.
A frequently used ground is Domestic Relations Law § 170(7): one spouse states under oath that the marriage has been irretrievably broken for at least six months. Even then, the judgment waits for a resolution or decision on finances and, if there are children, parenting, all of it written into the judgment. Section 170 also lists other grounds. See the Westchester divorce and White Plains divorce pages for more on the statute’s structure.
Residence rules are in Domestic Relations Law § 230. Whether they are met is a question of fact.
Settled issues, or a trial
If the spouses have a complete agreement, they can often ask the court to treat the case as uncontested. Resolving the issues first is often more efficient. That is not a statement about what the work costs. A contested remainder may be tried.
Family Court in Westchester
Family Court may hear support, custody, or family-offense petitions. It cannot enter a judgment of divorce. Its current county locations are 111 Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard in White Plains; 131 Warburton Avenue, 3rd floor, in Yonkers; and 26 Garden Street, 3rd floor, in New Rochelle. Which location hears a particular matter depends on the case. Related issues are often addressed in the Supreme Court action itself.
Arranging a meeting
Gregory Salant can be reached at (914) 683-2500 or through the contact form. Hold detailed or sensitive facts for the meeting itself. Contacting the firm does not create an attorney-client relationship.
If they are available, useful items include a deed or tax bill for a home in the unincorporated Town, recent pay or tax information, any existing orders, and a note of the children’s present school district if school enrollment is in question.
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
Can a divorce be filed at Town Court, 1 Heady Street?
No. The Justice Court in Cortlandt Manor cannot grant a divorce. The action belongs in Supreme Court, at the Daronco Courthouse in White Plains.
Because Croton-on-Hudson and Buchanan are villages in the Town, do their residents file in a different court?
No. Village residence does not create a second divorce court. Croton-on-Hudson has its own village government and Village Court; Buchanan lists a Village Justice at 236 Tate Avenue. Neither local court can grant a divorce.
Does Cortlandt Station change the filing court?
No. The MTA lists Cortlandt on the Hudson Line. White Plains is served by the Harlem Line. The station does not select the court.
The Town has school buildings from more than one district. Does that decide custody?
No. The Town’s official schools page lists sites from Lakeland, Hendrick Hudson, and Croton-Harmon. Confirm the district by address. The court uses a best-interests standard, not a rule that the child remain in one district or that time be divided equally.
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