Westchester County Family Court Records

What the Westchester County Family Court Handles

Family Court in New York hears a set list of family and child matters. In Westchester, that list is broad. The court takes child custody and visitation cases. It sets and enforces child support and spousal support. It decides paternity, which is the legal finding of who a child's father is. It hears juvenile delinquency cases, where a minor is charged with an act that would be a crime for an adult. It also handles PINS petitions, child neglect and abuse cases, adoptions, and guardianships.

Family-offense cases are a big part of the work. These are petitions tied to domestic violence between people in a family or close relationship. A judge can issue an order of protection to keep one person away from another. Family Court shares this power with the criminal courts in some cases.

Most cases here begin with a petition, not a complaint. The person who files is the petitioner. The person on the other side is the respondent. That word choice marks Family Court apart from civil suits, where the parties are plaintiff and defendant.

• Child custody and visitation.
• Child support and spousal support, including enforcement.
• Paternity petitions.
• Juvenile delinquency and PINS cases.
• Child neglect and abuse proceedings.
• Adoptions and guardianships.
• Family-offense and order-of-protection cases.

What the Westchester County Family Court Does Not Handle

One point trips up a lot of people. Divorce is not a Family Court case. Neither is legal separation or annulment. Those go to the Supreme Court, the state's main trial court. The Westchester County Family Court can set support and custody, but it cannot end a marriage.

So if you want to file for divorce, or look up an old divorce file, that record sits with the County Clerk through the Supreme Court, not Family Court. The two courts often deal with the same family, yet they keep separate files. A couple may have a divorce case in Supreme Court and a support or custody case in Family Court at the same time.

For the divorce side, see the Westchester Supreme Court page and the marriage and divorce records page. Estate and guardianship-of-the-person matters for adults can cross into Surrogate's Court, which is its own court again.

Westchester County Family Court Locations

The Westchester County Family Court is not in one building. It runs from three places. The main court sits in the White Plains courthouse, in the same complex as Supreme and County Court. Two more courts serve the south end of the county, in Yonkers and New Rochelle. Where your case is heard usually depends on where the parties live. Call ahead to confirm the right site before you travel.

The White Plains court shares the courthouse with Surrogate's Court and the County Clerk. The Yonkers and New Rochelle courts are smaller satellite sites. All three hold calendars, take filings, and handle support, custody, and family-offense matters for their part of the county.

How to Search a Westchester County Family Court Case

The state runs a free tool called WebFamily for active Family Court cases. It covers all 62 New York counties, including Westchester, plus Integrated Domestic Violence cases where they exist. You can search by file or docket number. You can also build a pending-case list for an attorney or firm, or pull a calendar by county and judge. WebFamily shows active cases, not closed ones, and it does not open up the full file. Family records stay restricted by law.

If you are a party or an attorney of record, you have more reach. You can ask the clerk at the right court site for case details, copies, or your next court date. Bring photo ID. The general public cannot just walk in and read a stranger's family file.

The steps below show the common path to find a Family Court case or an upcoming date.

1. Confirm the case is in Family Court, not Supreme Court, and find which site holds it: White Plains, Yonkers, or New Rochelle.
2. Open WebFamily and search by the file or docket number, or pull the calendar by county and judge.
3. If you do not have the number, call the court site that handles your case for help.
4. If you are a party or attorney, ask the clerk for the case details, the part, and the next appearance date.
5. Request copies from the court only if you are entitled to them under the access rules.

Note: WebFamily lists active cases and future dates, so a closed or sealed case may not appear in the public search.

Westchester County Family Court Terms

Family Court uses words that differ from other courts. A short glossary helps when you read a docket or a petition. These five terms come up in nearly every Westchester County Family Court matter.

Petitioner

The person who starts the case by filing a petition.

Respondent

The person the petition is filed against, who must respond.

PINS

Person In Need of Supervision; a minor whose behavior brings the family to court but who is not charged as a delinquent.

Paternity

The legal finding of who a child's father is, often tied to a support case.

Order of Protection

A court order that limits or bars contact between people, common in family-offense cases.

Family Court vs Supreme Court in Westchester County

Both courts deal with families, yet they split the work. The table makes the line clear. Use it to figure out where a case belongs before you search for it.

The short version is simple. To end a marriage, go to Supreme Court. For custody, support, paternity, juvenile, or family-offense matters on their own, go to Family Court. When a divorce is filed, the Supreme Court can fold custody and support into that single case.

Confidentiality of Westchester County Family Court Records

Family records get more protection than most court files. The main rule is Family Court Act § 166. Under it, Family Court files are not open to broad public inspection. A judge or clerk decides access case by case. Parties and their attorneys have stronger rights than the general public. So a neighbor or a curious stranger cannot pull a family file the way they might pull a civil judgment.

The text of the law sets out who may inspect and copy these records.

Read the full statute on the New York Senate page for Family Court Act § 166 to see the exact access rules.

The page shows that inspection is discretionary, which is why the court controls who sees a Westchester County Family Court file.

Juvenile cases get even tighter rules. Family Court Act § 375.1 covers sealing of juvenile delinquency records. When a delinquency case ends in the young person's favor, the clerk notifies the agencies and the record is sealed, unless the court finds the interests of justice call for something else. Adoption files and family-offense details are also closely guarded. To view a restricted file, you usually must be a party, an attorney of record, or hold a court order.

Who Can Access Westchester County Family Court Records

Access splits into two groups. Parties and their lawyers are on one side. The general public is on the other. A party can see and copy the file in their own case. An attorney of record can do the same on behalf of a client. Beyond that, access narrows fast.

The public can use WebFamily to confirm an active case and a court date by file or docket number. The public cannot read pleadings, affidavits, or orders from a family file without leave of the court. This matches the spirit of Family Court Act § 166, which keeps these matters out of open view. For broader court files that are open to all, see the Westchester County court records page or the County Clerk page.