Yorktown is a town, not a village, and Yorktown Heights is the address used for Town Hall and Town Court, not a separate town. Gregory Salant, family and matrimonial attorney and a partner at Harold, Salant, Strassfield & Rotbard, LLP, represents people who live in the Town of Yorktown in divorce matters. The firm’s office is at 81 Main Street, Suite 205, White Plains — the same city as the court that hears Westchester County divorce cases. There is no firm office in Yorktown.
This page is general information about New York law and about where those cases are filed. It is not legal advice, and it does not predict the outcome of any particular matter.
Town Hall, Town Court, and the Town of Yorktown
The Town of Yorktown’s official site places Town Hall at 363 Underhill Avenue, Yorktown Heights, NY 10598. Yorktown Justice Court is at 3 Captain Kenneth Sgroi Plaza, Yorktown Heights, NY 10598, on the town’s official court page. That court handles traffic violations, small claims, summary proceedings, Town Code violations, and criminal matters. A divorce, an annulment, or a judgment of separation cannot be obtained there.
A divorce for a Yorktown resident is a case in 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. This page is written for people who live in the Town of Yorktown, not only for people with a Yorktown Heights mailing address.
A case is typically started by filing and serving a summons with notice, or a summons and verified complaint. New York also has residency requirements. Whether they are met depends on the facts and can be reviewed in a consultation. The ground often called no-fault, Domestic Relations Law § 170(7), is a sworn statement that the relationship has broken down irretrievably for at least six months. On that ground, the court does not grant a judgment until the financial and parenting issues have been resolved or determined and incorporated into the judgment. The statute lists seven grounds in all. More on that framework is on the Westchester divorce and White Plains divorce pages.
Four school districts, and how parenting issues are decided
According to the town’s official schools page, four public school districts serve the Town of Yorktown: Croton-Harmon, Ossining Union Free, Lakeland Central, and Yorktown Central. Yorktown Central School District keeps its offices at 2725 Crompond Road in Yorktown Heights and is the local district for many families, but the district for any one home depends on the address.
If the couple has children, the Supreme Court case ordinarily takes up custody, parenting time, and child support together with the rest of the divorce. The test is the child’s best interests. A current school placement can be relevant evidence; it is not a command that the child remain in that school or district. Living arrangements after the case, the school calendar, and the child’s community ties often enter the analysis. They do not predetermine the result. The child custody and parenting time page discusses the subject at greater length.
How people in the town get to White Plains
Most conferences, appearances, and meetings with counsel take place in White Plains, at or near 81 Main Street, Suite 205. The town’s official transportation page covers Bee-Line bus service and other local options and does not list a Metro-North station inside the town. That silence does not move the divorce out of Supreme Court, and this page does not state a route or travel time.
Fair division of the house and other assets
In many Yorktown matters the house is both a large asset and a short-term housing problem. Who remains there during the case, whether a sale or a buyout makes sense, and who pays the mortgage, taxes, and other carrying costs all turn on title, any separate-property claims, the equity and debt, and what else is in the marital estate. The law does not hand the house automatically to one spouse.
Domestic Relations Law § 236(B) calls for equitable distribution. The court is to reach a fair result under the statutory factors, not a mandatory half-and-half split and not a community-property division. A custodial parent’s need to stay in or own the marital residence may be weighed. It is not, standing alone, a right to keep the house.
A professional practice, a closely held business, deferred compensation, or equity awards appear in some town cases and not in others. No single dollar figure in the statute converts a case into a “high-net-worth” matter. The high-net-worth divorce page addresses how those interests are identified, classified, and valued.
If the issues are already worked out
Couples who have already settled what must be decided, or who are nearly there, may be able to use the uncontested divorce process. Even then, the papers go to Supreme Court in White Plains, which can still request more information or require an appearance. An agreed case is often the more efficient way to finish, but it is not a reduced-fee or second-tier form of representation.
When parenting, the house, other property, or support is still in dispute, the matter is contested. The usual sequence in a contested Westchester divorce includes commencement and service, a preliminary conference, financial disclosure, applications for temporary relief, settlement talks, and a trial in White Plains if the disputes are not resolved. Some cases end in a settlement; some are decided after trial. No timetable or outcome should be assumed.
What Family Court can and cannot do
A divorce action cannot be brought in Family Court, and Family Court cannot issue an annulment or a judgment of separation. The county currently staffs Family Court in three buildings: 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. Ask the court which building is correct for a particular Family Court filing.
Parenting or support issues that are part of the divorce are generally decided in the Supreme Court action in White Plains. A family matter that stands apart from the divorce may belong in Family Court.
Getting in touch, and what to have with you
If you want to talk with Gregory Salant about a Town of Yorktown divorce, schedule a consultation or call (914) 683-2500. Do not put confidential or detailed case information into an unreviewed website form. Sending a message through this site is not enough, by itself, to create an attorney-client relationship.
Papers you have already received, any existing agreements or orders, and a short list of questions are a good start. Tax returns, a deed or mortgage statement, pay or equity-award records, account statements, and business or practice financials help when you have them. You can still request a meeting if the paperwork is incomplete.
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
If I live in Yorktown, do I file for divorce at Town Court in Yorktown Heights?
No. Yorktown Justice Court, at 3 Captain Kenneth Sgroi Plaza in Yorktown Heights, has no power to grant a divorce. The action is brought in Supreme Court, at 111 Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard in White Plains.
Is Yorktown Heights its own town?
No. The municipality is the Town of Yorktown. Both Town Hall, at 363 Underhill Avenue, and Town Court use a Yorktown Heights address. A resident of any part of the town still files a Westchester divorce in Supreme Court in White Plains.
The town transportation page does not list a Metro-North station. Does that change where I file?
No. The official page discusses Bee-Line bus and other local services and does not list a Metro-North station in the town. The divorce is still filed in Supreme Court in White Plains. This page does not state a route or travel time.
Which school district serves the Town of Yorktown?
The town is served by four public school districts — Croton-Harmon, Ossining Union Free, Lakeland Central, and Yorktown Central. Yorktown Central, based at 2725 Crompond Road in Yorktown Heights, is the local district for many families, but the district depends on the address. Parenting decisions are made under a best-interests standard, not a requirement that a child stay in a given district.
Serving Westchester, Rockland, Putnam, Orange and Dutchess Counties, and the Bronx, Manhattan and the other New York City counties.
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