According to the Village’s official information packet for residents, Croton-on-Hudson became an incorporated village in the Town of Cortlandt in 1891, and Village residents pay town, school, and county taxes to the Town.
The court that can grant a divorce is the New York State Supreme Court for Westchester County. It sits at the Richard J. Daronco Courthouse, 111 Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard, White Plains, NY 10601. Village government is centered at the Stanley H. Kellerhouse Municipal Building, 1 Van Wyck Street. A matrimonial judgment is not entered there.
Gregory Salant is a partner at Harold, Salant, Strassfield & Rotbard, LLP, and represents people who live in the Village in divorce and other family-law matters. Appointments are scheduled at 81 Main Street, Suite 205, in White Plains, the city where Westchester County divorce cases are heard. There is no firm office in Croton-on-Hudson.
Two districts, including the north end of the Village
The same official resident packet identifies two public school districts inside the Village. Croton-Harmon School District, it states, includes most of the Village of Croton-on-Hudson, as well as parts of the Town of Cortlandt, the Town of Yorktown, and the Village of Ossining. The district’s official business-office page lists an office at 10 Gerstein Street, Croton-on-Hudson. The packet also states that a small percentage of residents who live in the north end of the Village attend the Hendrick Hudson Schools.
Confirm the district by address. The Village is not the same municipality as the rest of the Town of Cortlandt.
Parenting issues in a divorce are decided under a best-interests standard. Supreme Court typically addresses custody, parenting time, and child support in the same action as the dissolution. A child’s enrollment in Croton-Harmon or in Hendrick Hudson can be relevant evidence. It does not lock the child into one district, and it does not produce an automatic equal-time schedule. See the child custody and parenting time page.
The stop is called Croton-Harmon
The village name and the station name are not the same. The MTA lists Croton-Harmon as a Metro-North station on the Hudson Line. The Village’s official resident packet states that the Croton-Harmon Train Station provides Hudson Line service and access to Amtrak, and the MTA station page also lists Amtrak as a connecting service.
The Harlem Line is the Metro-North line that serves White Plains. A Hudson Line stop is not a same-line trip to the courthouse or to the office at 81 Main Street, Suite 205. Calling the station Croton-Harmon, or having Amtrak there, does not choose the divorce court.
1 Van Wyck Street and 1 Heady Street
The Village’s official court page places the Justice Court in the Stanley H. Kellerhouse Municipal Building, 1 Van Wyck Street, Croton-on-Hudson, NY 10520, and describes a local docket covering criminal matters, vehicle and traffic, parking, and village-code cases, together with civil, landlord-tenant, and small-claims matters. That court has no power to dissolve a marriage, grant an annulment, or issue a judgment of separation.
A different local court — the Town of Cortlandt Justice Court — sits at 1 Heady Street, Cortlandt Manor, NY 10567, on the Town’s official court page. Its docket, as described there, includes local criminal, traffic, ordinance, civil, small-claims, and landlord-tenant matters. Town Court likewise has no power to grant a divorce. An address inside the Village, as opposed to an unincorporated part of the Town, does not send the matrimonial case to Heady Street or keep it on Van Wyck Street.
Houses, accounts, and equitable distribution
Domestic Relations Law § 236(B) is the statute that classifies property and then provides for equitable distribution of what is marital. New York does not follow community property, and the court is not required to award each spouse an identical share.
For a household in the Village, the marital residence is often among the assets to be classified, sometimes along with retirement savings and brokerage accounts. Holding title in one name, or living near the Croton-Harmon station, does not finish the classification. A spouse's separate property is generally not divided. That status can be lost if the property is 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. Larger estates are discussed further on the high-net-worth divorce page.
Filing in White Plains, and the ground that is often used
The action is commenced by filing a summons with notice, or a summons and verified complaint, in Supreme Court, and by serving the other spouse. New York does not start a divorce with a petition for dissolution.
Domestic Relations Law § 230 sets residence rules that can determine whether the case belongs in a New York court. Whether those rules are satisfied turns on the facts of the marriage and of each spouse’s residence.
Domestic Relations Law § 170 contains the grounds. Under § 170(7), one spouse states under oath that the marriage has broken down irretrievably for a period of at least six months. Judgment on that ground is withheld until economic terms, and any terms involving children, have been resolved or decided and written into the judgment. Other grounds remain in the same section. Statewide background appears on the Westchester divorce and White Plains divorce pages.
Agreement first, or a trial later
An uncontested divorce is available when the spouses have already resolved the issues between them. Completing that work first is often more efficient. Efficiency is not a description of a legal fee. Issues that remain in dispute may be decided at trial.
Family Court in the county
Support, custody, or family-offense petitions may be heard in Family Court. A judgment of divorce may not. Westchester Family Court currently maintains locations at 111 Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard, White Plains; 131 Warburton Avenue, 3rd floor, Yonkers; and 26 Garden Street, 3rd floor, New Rochelle. Which location hears a particular matter depends on the case. Related issues are often folded into the Supreme Court divorce.
Setting up a meeting
A consultation with Gregory Salant can be requested on the contact page or by calling (914) 683-2500. Sensitive or detailed case facts should be saved for the conversation itself. Contacting the firm does not create an attorney-client relationship.
Bring, if you have them, any papers already exchanged, a summary of assets and debts, information about a home in the Village, and — if children are involved — a note of current school enrollment, including whether the address is in Croton-Harmon or in Hendrick Hudson.
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
Does the Justice Court in the Kellerhouse Municipal Building hear divorces?
No. The court at 1 Van Wyck Street has no authority to grant a divorce. The case belongs in Supreme Court, at the Richard J. Daronco Courthouse, 111 Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard, White Plains.
Because Croton-on-Hudson is in the Town of Cortlandt, should the papers be filed at 1 Heady Street?
No. The Town of Cortlandt Justice Court in Cortlandt Manor is a local justice court. It cannot grant a divorce.
Does the Croton-Harmon name, or the Hudson Line, change where the divorce is filed?
No. The MTA lists the stop as Croton-Harmon, on the Hudson Line. White Plains is served on the Harlem Line. Neither the station name nor the line selects the court.
If part of the Village is in Hendrick Hudson School District, does that control custody?
No. The official resident packet states that Croton-Harmon includes most of the Village, and that a small percentage of residents in the north end attend Hendrick Hudson schools. Confirm the district by address. Best interests govern; a district line does not automatically keep a child in place or require equal parenting time.
Serving Westchester, Rockland, Putnam, Orange and Dutchess Counties, and the Bronx, Manhattan and the other New York City counties.
Attorney Advertising. Prior results do not guarantee a similar outcome. The information on this website is general information, not legal advice.