Yonkers is a city. The City’s official About page describes it as the largest city in Westchester County and as New York’s third-largest city. City Hall is at 40 South Broadway, Yonkers, NY 10701. Yonkers City Court is at 100 South Broadway, Yonkers, NY 10701, according to the New York State Unified Court System. A judgment of divorce is not entered at either South Broadway address.
A Yonkers resident who needs a divorce, an annulment, or a judgment of separation files that action in Supreme Court at the Richard J. Daronco Courthouse, 111 Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard, White Plains, NY 10601.
What often causes confusion is a different courthouse inside the City: Westchester County Family Court has a location at 131 Warburton Avenue, 3rd floor, in Yonkers. That location is one of three current Family Court sites in the county. It still is not the court that ends a marriage.
Gregory Salant, a partner at Harold, Salant, Strassfield & Rotbard, LLP, appears for Yonkers residents in divorce and in family-law matters that may be heard in Family Court or in Supreme Court. The office used for those meetings is 81 Main Street, Suite 205, in White Plains, the city where Westchester County divorce cases are heard. The firm has no second location in Yonkers.
Yonkers City Court at 100 South Broadway
Yonkers City Court is a city court, housed at 100 South Broadway. The Unified Court System describes city courts as courts that hear certain civil and criminal matters. Whatever the scope of that local docket, City Court cannot grant a divorce, an annulment, or a judgment of separation.
Family Court at 131 Warburton Avenue
Westchester Family Court currently sits in three places: 111 Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard, White Plains; 131 Warburton Avenue, 3rd floor, Yonkers; and 26 Garden Street, 3rd floor, New Rochelle. The Yonkers site is a county Family Court location that happens to be in the City. Which location hears a particular matter depends on the case.
Living in Yonkers does not, by itself, assign a Family Court petition to the Warburton Avenue courthouse. A family-offense, custody, support, paternity, or child-protective petition may belong in Family Court, but an action for divorce does not. Custody, parenting time, and support that are part of a divorce are often decided in the Supreme Court action. The firm’s Yonkers Family Court page lists factors courts weigh in custody decisions.
Grounds and how the divorce is commenced
The statutory grounds are collected in Domestic Relations Law § 170. A frequently used ground is DRL § 170(7): one spouse states under oath that the relationship has broken down irretrievably, and that the breakdown has continued for at least six months. The court waits to sign a judgment on that ground until finances and any children’s issues have been resolved or decided and have been written into the judgment. Additional grounds appear in the same section.
A summons with notice or a summons and verified complaint is what commences the action; service follows. A petition for dissolution is not a New York filing device for divorce.
Domestic Relations Law § 230 can make residence part of the jurisdictional analysis. The inquiry is factual. Background on the statewide framework is on the Westchester divorce and White Plains divorce pages.
Official descriptions of Metro-North in Yonkers
The City’s official About page states that ten Metro-North stations serve Yonkers and that the City has 4.5 miles of Hudson River waterfront. The same page names the Hudson River Museum and Sarah Lawrence College among the City’s institutions. The MTA lists the Yonkers, Ludlow, Glenwood, and Greystone stations on the Hudson Line. None of those landmarks, and none of those stations, selects the court that grants a divorce.
Property along the waterfront or in another part of the City
Domestic Relations Law § 236(B) directs the court to classify each asset and then to distribute marital property by equitable distribution. That process is not community property, and equal shares are not required.
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. A residence near the waterfront, or anywhere else in the City, is classified under that statute. The address does not dictate the outcome by itself. Separate property is generally not divided, and 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 complex holdings are discussed on the high-net-worth divorce page.
Yonkers Public Schools and parenting issues
Yonkers Public Schools lists its offices at One Larkin Center, Yonkers, NY 10701, on the district’s official site. The district for a particular home should be confirmed by address.
When children are involved, the divorce usually includes custody, parenting time, and child support. The standard is the best interests of the child. Enrollment in Yonkers Public Schools may be relevant evidence. It does not, standing alone, require that the child stay in that district, and it does not require an even split of time. The child custody and parenting time page explains the standard further.
An agreement, or a trial of what is left
A fully documented resolution of every outstanding issue often lets the matter go forward as an uncontested divorce. That procedure is often more efficient when the issues are resolved. It is not a reduced fee. Open items may be tried.
How to get in touch
A meeting with Gregory Salant can be requested at (914) 683-2500 or through the contact page. Wait to share confidential facts until that conversation. Contacting the firm does not create an attorney-client relationship.
A useful packet, if the papers exist, can include court papers already in circulation, a recent tax return, statements covering banks, retirement accounts, and debts, proof of an interest in a Yonkers residence, and a description of each child’s school situation.
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 Yonkers City Court, at 100 South Broadway, grant a divorce?
No. The Unified Court System places City Court at that South Broadway address. It still has no authority to enter a judgment of divorce. The matrimonial filing is made in Supreme Court in White Plains.
Family Court has a location at 131 Warburton Avenue, 3rd floor. Do I file the divorce there?
No. Family Court does not grant divorces. The Warburton Avenue courthouse is a Family Court location, not a matrimonial part of Supreme Court.
Because I live in Yonkers, will a Family Court petition automatically be heard at the Warburton Avenue location?
No. The Yonkers site is one of three current Family Court locations in the county. Which location hears a particular matter depends on the case.
The City’s About page says ten Metro-North stations serve Yonkers. Does that change the divorce court?
No. The MTA lists Yonkers, Ludlow, Glenwood, and Greystone on the Hudson Line within the City. Rail service does not select the court that grants a divorce.
If the children attend Yonkers Public Schools, whose offices are at One Larkin Center, does that decide custody?
No. The district should be verified by 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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