Greenburgh Town Court uses a White Plains mailing address, but it is not where a divorce is filed. Gregory Salant, family and matrimonial attorney and a partner at Harold, Salant, Strassfield & Rotbard, LLP, represents Hartsdale residents in divorce matters. Hartsdale is an unincorporated hamlet in the Town of Greenburgh, not its own village or city. The firm’s office is at 81 Main Street, Suite 205, White Plains. There is no firm office in Hartsdale.
What is said here is general information about New York law and about the courts that hear these cases. It is not legal advice, and it is not a prediction of how a particular matter will be resolved.
An unincorporated hamlet in Greenburgh
The Town of Greenburgh’s official site lists six incorporated villages — Ardsley, Dobbs Ferry, Elmsford, Hastings-on-Hudson, Irvington, and Tarrytown — and unincorporated neighborhoods that include Hartsdale. Hartsdale does not have a village hall or a village court. Town Hall is at 177 Hillside Avenue, Greenburgh, NY 10607.
The Greenburgh Town Court is at 188 Tarrytown Road, White Plains, NY 10607. That address uses a White Plains ZIP code, but it is the Town of Greenburgh’s justice court, not the Supreme Court. On the town’s official Courts page, Town Court hears criminal, civil, traffic, landlord-tenant, small-claims, and town-code matters. It does not grant divorces, annulments, or judgments of separation. Residents of the villages and of the other unincorporated neighborhoods in the town likewise file a Westchester divorce in Supreme Court in White Plains, not in Town Court. This page is written for people in Hartsdale.
Two different White Plains addresses
A Hartsdale divorce is a case in the New York State Supreme Court for Westchester County. That court sits at the Richard J. Daronco Courthouse, 111 Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard, White Plains, NY 10601 — a different White Plains address from Greenburgh Town Court on Tarrytown Road. The usual first papers are a summons with notice, or a summons and verified complaint, which must be filed and served. Residency requirements also apply; whether they are met depends on the facts and can be reviewed when you consult counsel.
Domestic Relations Law § 170(7), the ground often called no-fault, requires a sworn statement that the relationship has broken down irretrievably for at least six months. On that ground, judgment waits until the financial and parenting issues have been resolved or determined and incorporated into the judgment. The statute contains seven grounds in all. Further discussion is on the Westchester divorce and White Plains divorce pages.
Court conferences, many appearances, and meetings with counsel are also typically in White Plains, at or near 81 Main Street, Suite 205. Hartsdale Station is a Metro-North Harlem Line stop. White Plains is on that same line. The railroad’s layout may be relevant to how you get to court or to the office; it does not change the filing court, and no travel time is stated here.
Greenburgh Central and parenting issues
For couples with children, custody, parenting time, and child support are usually decided in the Supreme Court case. New York courts apply a best-interests standard. There is no special rule that a child must stay in a particular school or district.
Greenburgh Central School District, based at 475 West Hartsdale Avenue in Hartsdale, is the local public school district for many families in Hartsdale. The Town of Greenburgh includes several public school districts, so the district depends on the address. Questions about where each parent will live, how a schedule fits the school calendar, and how the child’s existing school and community are taken into account come up often. They can matter in a particular case; they do not dictate a result. See the child custody and parenting time page.
Property division, including the marital home
The house is frequently both a significant asset and a short-term housing problem. Who remains there during the case, whether it will be sold or one spouse will buy the other out, and how taxes, the mortgage, and other carrying costs are handled all depend on title, any separate-property contributions, the equity and debt, and the rest of the marital estate. The home is not automatically awarded to one spouse.
Marital property is distributed equitably under Domestic Relations Law § 236(B): fairly, according to statutory factors, not necessarily in equal shares, and not under community-property rules. Among the factors a court may consider is the need of a custodial parent to occupy or own the marital residence. That is only one factor, and it is not a guarantee.
Some Hartsdale divorces also involve a professional practice or business, deferred compensation, or equity awards. New York does not use a single dollar threshold to decide whether a case is “high-net-worth.” Those issues are discussed on the high-net-worth divorce page.
If you already agree — and if you do not
When the issues that must be decided are already resolved, or nearly so, the case may be able to go forward 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. With the issues resolved, this path is often more efficient than litigating what is still open. It should not be mistaken for a discounted or lesser form of representation.
A contested case is one in which the spouses have not agreed on parenting, the home, other property, or support. It often proceeds through commencement and service, a preliminary conference, financial disclosure, temporary applications, settlement discussions, and, if needed, a trial in White Plains. Some cases settle before trial; others are tried. There is no typical timeline or result.
Family Court, separately from the divorce
Family Court has no power to grant a divorce, an annulment, or a judgment of separation. Westchester County Family Court currently has courthouses at 111 Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard in White Plains; at 131 Warburton Avenue, 3rd floor, in Yonkers; and at 26 Garden Street, 3rd floor, in New Rochelle. The proper location for a particular Family Court matter should be confirmed with the court. This page does not assign Hartsdale or Greenburgh residents to one of those three.
Custody or support that is part of a divorce is generally addressed in the Supreme Court case in White Plains. A family matter that is not part of the divorce may belong in Family Court.
Scheduling a consultation
To discuss a Hartsdale divorce matter with Gregory Salant, schedule a consultation or call (914) 683-2500. Confidential or detailed case information should not be sent through an unreviewed website form. A website contact does not, by itself, create an attorney-client relationship.
Bring papers you have received, existing agreements or court orders, and a short list of questions. Recent tax returns, a deed or mortgage statement, pay or equity-award documents, account statements, and, if relevant, business or practice financials are helpful when available. You do not need a complete set of records to ask 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
Is Greenburgh Town Court, at 188 Tarrytown Road, the court that grants a divorce?
No. That is the Town of Greenburgh’s justice court, even though the address uses a White Plains ZIP code. A Westchester divorce is filed in Supreme Court at 111 Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard, a different courthouse in White Plains.
Does Hartsdale have its own village government?
No. Hartsdale is an unincorporated hamlet in the Town of Greenburgh. The town also includes six incorporated villages and other unincorporated neighborhoods. A divorce for a resident of the town is filed in Supreme Court in White Plains.
Hartsdale Station is on the Harlem Line. Is that the filing court?
No. The Harlem Line also serves White Plains, which may be useful for travel, but the case is still a Supreme Court matter. This page does not state a travel time.
Does Greenburgh Central School District cover every Hartsdale address?
The district, based at 475 West Hartsdale Avenue, is the local public school district for many families in Hartsdale, but the Town of Greenburgh includes several public school districts, so the district depends on the address. The parenting standard is the child’s best interests. Nothing requires a child to remain in a particular district.
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.