Elmsford is an incorporated village. The Town of Greenburgh’s official villages page lists the Village of Elmsford among the six villages inside the Town. A resident of the Village is also a resident of the Town of Greenburgh. Village government does not move a divorce into Village Court, and Town residence does not move it into Greenburgh Town Court.
The Village’s official facilities page places Elmsford Village Hall at 15 South Stone Avenue, Elmsford, NY 10523, and lists the Elmsford Senior Center at 10 N Stone Avenue. The official Elmsford Village Court page lists the court at 15 S Stone Avenue, the same building as Village Hall. Local court business may be heard there. A judgment of divorce is not entered there.
For an Elmsford resident, a divorce is granted only in the New York State Supreme Court, Westchester County. The courthouse is the Richard J. Daronco Courthouse, 111 Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard, White Plains, NY 10601.
People who live in the Village retain Gregory Salant, a partner at Harold, Salant, Strassfield & Rotbard, LLP, for divorce and other family-law matters. The consultation address is 81 Main Street, Suite 205, in White Plains, the city where Westchester County divorce cases are heard. He does not keep an Elmsford office.
Village Court on Stone Avenue, and Town Court on Tarrytown Road
Elmsford Village Court is a village justice court at 15 S Stone Avenue. The court’s own page describes a local docket that includes vehicle and traffic matters, village ordinances, and civil and small-claims cases. Whatever else appears on that docket, Village Court cannot grant a divorce, an annulment, or a judgment of separation.
Greenburgh Town Court is a different local court. The Town’s official court page places it at 188 Tarrytown Road, White Plains, NY 10607. That Tarrytown Road address is Town Court, not Supreme Court, even though the mailing city is White Plains. Town Court also cannot dissolve a marriage. Living in a Greenburgh village does not send the divorce to 188 Tarrytown Road.
The Village, and the Town neighborhood called North Elmsford
The Town’s official online guide lists North Elmsford as an unincorporated neighborhood of the Town, together with Fairview, Greenville, Hartsdale, East Irvington, and South Ardsley. North Elmsford is not the Village. A home in the unincorporated Town should be confirmed by address; the shared name is not a village limit. Either way, the divorce remains a Supreme Court case.
Other villages inside the Town have their own pages, including Ardsley and Tarrytown. A line with a neighboring village does not move an Elmsford resident’s divorce out of Supreme Court.
Grounds, the summons, and residence
Domestic Relations Law § 170 is where the grounds are collected. A frequently used ground is DRL § 170(7): one spouse states under oath to an irretrievable breakdown lasting at least six months. A judgment on that ground is withheld until finances, and any issues involving children, have been resolved or decided and placed in the judgment. The section also contains other grounds.
Commencement requires a summons with notice or a summons and verified complaint, followed by service. Divorce in New York is not begun by a petition for dissolution.
Jurisdictional residence can also be an issue under Domestic Relations Law § 230. The facts of the particular household have to be matched to the statute. The Westchester divorce and White Plains divorce pages discuss the statewide framework.
Elmsford Union Free School District
Elmsford Union Free School District lists its offices at 98 South Goodwin Avenue, Elmsford, NY 10523, on the district’s official site. The same site names Carl L. Dixson Primary School, Alice E. Grady Elementary School, and Alexander Hamilton Jr./Sr. High School. Naming those buildings does not decide custody. The district for a particular home should be confirmed by address. Village boundaries and school-district boundaries are not always the same.
Children’s issues, when they exist, are generally taken up in the divorce. The standard applied is the best interests of the child. A current school placement can be evidence. It is not, standing alone, a rule that the child must stay in Elmsford Union Free School District or that time must be shared equally. See the child custody and parenting time discussion.
Equitable distribution of property in the Village
Each asset has to be classified under Domestic Relations Law § 236(B) before marital property is distributed by equitable distribution. Community property is not the New York rule, and an automatic even split is not either.
Proximity to Village Hall on Stone Avenue does not decide how a house or apartment in the Village is treated. The marital residence is often a central asset, along with pensions, deferred compensation, and any closely held business; among the statutory factors is a custodial parent's need to occupy or own the marital residence. What is separate is generally not divided. Commingling, however, can strip that status. An increase in the value of separate property is marital to the extent it is due to the other spouse's contributions or efforts. See the high-net-worth divorce page for larger estates.
If every issue has already been resolved
When every outstanding issue is already documented, the matter can often go forward as an uncontested divorce. Efficiency is often greater when the issues are resolved. It is not a reduced fee. Items still open may be tried.
Family Court locations
If the only relief sought is a divorce, Family Court is the wrong forum. Other family petitions may be heard at 131 Warburton Avenue, 3rd floor, in Yonkers; at 26 Garden Street, 3rd floor, in New Rochelle; or at 111 Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard, White Plains. Which location hears a particular matter depends on the case. In a divorce, Supreme Court often decides the overlapping questions itself.
Arranging a consultation
Telephone (914) 683-2500, or the contact page, will reach the office to book a meeting with Gregory Salant. Keep confidential case information for that meeting. Contacting the firm does not create an attorney-client relationship.
Bring, when available, any filings already circulating, a tax return, bank and retirement and debt statements, papers showing an interest in an Elmsford home, and a description of each child’s school.
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 Elmsford Village Court, at 15 S Stone Avenue, grant a divorce?
No. Village Court shares the Village Hall address and hears local matters described on its own page. It cannot enter a judgment of divorce. The matrimonial filing is made in Supreme Court in White Plains.
Because Elmsford is in the Town of Greenburgh, should the divorce be filed at Town Court, 188 Tarrytown Road?
No. A resident of the Village is also a resident of the Town, but Town Court is still not a matrimonial court. The White Plains mailing address on Tarrytown Road does not make that building the Daronco Courthouse.
Is North Elmsford the same as the Village?
No. The Town’s official guide lists North Elmsford as an unincorporated neighborhood of the Town. Confirm the municipal line by address. In either case, a divorce is filed in Supreme Court in White Plains.
If the children attend Elmsford Union Free School District, at 98 South Goodwin Avenue, does that decide custody?
No. Check the district from the address. Best interests of the child governs, and the present school may be considered. Enrollment does not, by itself, freeze the school placement or require equal parenting time.
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