ny-family-court

name: ny-family-court description: > Use when drafting or filing in New York Family Court — the specialized trial court handling child custody, visitation, child support, paternity, juvenile delinquency, PINS, abuse/neglect (Article 10), family-offense / orders of protection. Triggers include 'NY Family Court', 'Family Court Act', 'FCA Article 4', 'FCA Article 8', 'CSSA child support', 'CSSA 17% basic', 'Family Court custody', 'family offense petition', 'PINS petition'. Covers Child Support Standards Act (CSSA) at FCA § 413 (17/25/29/31/35%, $183k cap); best-interests custody framework; Article 10 abuse/neglect with ACS (NYC) / DSS; Article 8 family-offense Orders of Protection; paternity under Article 5; Article 3 juvenile delinquency with Raise-the-Age; and the Support Magistrate + referee structure. NOT for divorce / matrimonial property (Supreme Court Matrimonial Part) or adoptions of adults. version: 0.1.2

New York Family Court (Family Court Act / 22 NYCRR Part 205)

NOT LEGAL ADVICE. Family Court matters have strict procedural rules, court-appointed-counsel rights, and interplay with parallel Supreme Court matrimonial proceedings. Verify every petition's statutory predicate and the specific county's filing protocol before filing.

At a glance

• Court: New York Family Court — established by Art VI § 13 of the NY Constitution and the Family Court Act (NY Family Court Act, "FCA"), with procedural rules at 22 NYCRR Part 205
• Coverage: one Family Court per county (62 total); larger counties have multiple courthouses + many Judges
  • Support Magistrates + Referees
• Filing fee: no filing fee for most petitions (FCA § 217 / § 251) — Family Court is fee-waived by default to ensure accessibility
• E-filing: NYSCEF mandatory in many counties for divorce-adjacent matters; rolling out for support, custody, family-offense, and PINS as well; some petitions still filed in person
• Right to counsel: assigned counsel under FCA § 262 for parents in Article 10 abuse/neglect, Article 6 termination of parental rights, Article 7 PINS, Article 3 juvenile delinquency, and family-offense respondents in Article 8 proceedings facing the prospect of Order of Protection consequences

Court structure — Judges, Support Magistrates, Referees

Family Court has a unique three-tier adjudicative structure:

• Family Court Judges — full-time judicial officers elected/appointed under Art VI § 13; hear custody, visitation, family-offense, PINS, abuse and neglect, termination of parental rights, juvenile delinquency
• Support Magistrates — court attorneys appointed under FCA § 439 who hear all child support and spousal support matters. Their orders are subject to objection before a Family Court Judge under FCA § 439(e). All NY Child Support Standards Act ("CSSA") cases proceed through Support Magistrates first.
• Referees — Judicial Hearing Officers or court-appointed referees who hear specific matters under FCA § 161; usually handles paternity testing-result reviews, specific orderly-administration tasks

Article overview

The Family Court Act organizes Family Court jurisdiction by Article — each Article corresponds to a different proceeding type with its own procedure:

Article 3 — Juvenile Delinquency (FCA § 301 et seq.)

Persons under 18 (Raise the Age 2017 + 2018) charged with acts that would be crimes if committed by adults. Heard before a Family Court Judge. Pre-adjudicatory probation / ATD (Alternatives to Detention) common. Adjudication results in adjustment, dismissal, conditional discharge, probation, or placement with the OCFS.

Article 4 — Child Support (FCA § 411 et seq.)

The principal financial-support proceeding. CSSA at FCA § 413 governs the basic child-support obligation:

• 17% of combined parental adjusted gross income for 1 child
• 25% for 2 children
• 29% for 3 children
• 31% for 4 children
• 35% for 5 or more children

The 2024 statutory combined-income cap: $183,000 (adjusts every two years). Above the cap, the court may apply CSSA percentages or weigh paragraph (f) factors (financial resources, child's standard of living, tax consequences, etc.). Both parties' incomes are pooled and imputed where appropriate. Add-ons include:

• Child care
• Health insurance
• Unreimbursed medical
• Educational expenses
• Other (often clothes / extracurriculars by case-by-case)

Article 5 — Paternity (FCA § 511 et seq.)

Establishment of paternity for unmarried fathers. Father or mother may petition; court may order genetic-marker test (GMT) at no charge to the petitioner. The Article 5 Order of Filiation is a predicate for any subsequent Article 4 support proceeding.

Article 6 — Custody and Visitation; Adoption (FCA § 611 et seq.)

The principal custody / visitation forum. Family Court has concurrent jurisdiction with Supreme Court for custody; Supreme Court has exclusive jurisdiction over divorce itself but can refer custody to Family Court (or retain it under the Matrimonial Part). The best-interests standard from Eschbach v. Eschbach, 56 N.Y.2d 167 (1982), governs. Joint legal custody is the modern default unless parental conflict is so high that joint decision-making is unworkable (Friederwitzer v. Friederwitzer).

Sub-areas under Article 6:

• Custody petitions between unmarried parents, or between a parent and a non-parent who has assumed parental role (in narrow circumstances — Brooke S.B. v. Elizabeth A.C.C., 28 N.Y.3d 1 (2016), expanded "parent" definition for non-biological co-parents)
• Visitation petitions by grandparents under DRL § 72
• Adoption under FCA § 651 + DRL Article 7

Article 7 — Persons In Need of Supervision (PINS)

Persons under 18 (some jurisdictions extend to 21) deemed "in need of supervision" by behavior such as truancy, incorrigibility, running away, or other status offenses. NYC has substantially eliminated the PINS docket since 2018 in favor of diversion programs; outside NYC the PINS docket remains active.

Article 8 — Family Offenses + Orders of Protection

Family-offense petitions allow a victim to seek a civil Order of Protection against a respondent who has committed a qualifying offense. Two qualifying elements must both be met:

1. Qualifying relationship: spouse, ex-spouse, parent in common with the victim's child, family member by blood/marriage, or person with whom the victim has had an "intimate relationship" (an expanding category; FCA § 812)
2. Qualifying offense from the FCA § 812 catalog — includes:
   • Assault (Penal Law § 120)
   • Aggravated harassment (PL § 240.30)
   • Stalking (PL § 120.45-120.60)
   • Menacing (PL § 120.13-120.15)
   • Reckless endangerment (PL § 120.20-120.25)
   • Strangulation (PL § 121.11-121.13)
   • Identity theft (PL § 190.78-190.80)
   • Forcible touching (PL § 130.52)
   • Coercive control (PL § 121.05-121.07, added 2022)
   • Many others — verify against the current § 812 list

Order of Protection types:

• Temporary — issued ex parte at the first appearance, pending the fact-finding
• Final — after fact-finding, can run up to 2 years (5 years on showing of aggravating circumstances)
• Stay-away clauses + no-contact clauses + firearm surrender are routine

Article 10 — Child Abuse and Neglect

ACS (NYC) or DSS (rest of state) is the petitioner. The fact-finding determines whether abuse / neglect occurred. Right to assigned counsel for the respondent parent (FCA § 262). Dispositional outcomes range from adjustment without finding to placement of the child with OCFS or relatives. Parallel Article 6 termination of parental rights (TPR) proceedings may follow if the parent fails to remediate.

Article 11 — Habeas Corpus for Children

Used historically for custodial-interference disputes. Less common today; supplanted by direct Article 6 custody petitions.

Distinctives

No divorce — Supreme Court matrimonial only

Family Court does not handle divorces. Divorce, legal separation, annulment, and equitable distribution of marital property route to Supreme Court Matrimonial Part (see ny-nyco, ny-kings, ny-nassau etc.). Family Court has concurrent jurisdiction with Supreme Court for custody, visitation, and child support when no matrimonial action is pending; once a matrimonial action is filed in Supreme Court, the Supreme Court can retain custody / support or refer to Family Court under DRL § 252.

Support Magistrate process + objection procedure

All Article 4 child support and Article 5 paternity matters are heard initially by a Support Magistrate — not a Family Court Judge. Within 35 days of the Support Magistrate's order, a party may file a written objection under FCA § 439(e) to be heard by the Family Court Judge. The objection process is the principal vehicle for correcting CSSA calculation errors and reviewing Magistrate findings.

CSSA presumption + rebutting it

CSSA's percentage-of-income formula is presumptively correct under FCA § 413(1)(g). A court can deviate only on findings that the presumptive amount is "unjust or inappropriate" considering the paragraph (f) factors. Magistrates routinely rubber-stamp the CSSA calculation absent specific deviation arguments.

Family-offense forum strategy

Family Court family-offense petitions run in parallel with any criminal prosecution. The respondent may face:

• Criminal Court order of protection (issued at arraignment under Criminal Procedure Law)
• Family Court order of protection (Article 8)
• Supreme Court order of protection (if matrimonial action pending)

The three forums issue overlapping but distinct orders. Family Court orders are civil; violations are punishable as contempt under Judiciary Law § 750 or criminal contempt under Penal Law § 215.50.

NYC vs. outside NYC differences

NYC Family Court is housed in 5 borough courthouses:

• New York County: 60 Lafayette Street, NY NY
• Kings County: 330 Jay Street, Brooklyn
• Bronx County: 900 Sheridan Avenue, Bronx
• Queens County: 151-20 Jamaica Avenue, Jamaica
• Richmond County: 100 Richmond Terrace, Staten Island

NYC operates a high-volume PINS / Article 10 / Article 3 docket with ACS (Administration for Children's Services) as the petitioner. Outside NYC, DSS (Department of Social Services, by county) is the equivalent petitioner.

Confidentiality + sealed records

Article 3 juvenile delinquency records are sealed by default under FCA § 375.1-375.3. Article 7 PINS records are also sealed. Article 10 abuse and neglect records are confidential by statute (FCA § 1043) but accessible to the parties + counsel. Family Court orders + petitions are generally not public in the way Supreme Court papers are — viewers must establish standing.

Filing checklist

1. Identify the correct petition type — each Article has its own petition form (most accessible via NYCourts "Form Search" at nycourts.gov/forms/)
2. Determine the proper county — generally where the child resides (FCA § 421); special venue rules for Article 8 (where parties reside or where offense occurred) and Article 10 (where the child resides)
3. No filing fee (FCA § 217) for most petitions
4. First appearance — typically within 2-4 weeks of filing
5. Court-appointed counsel for the respondent on Article 10, Article 7, Article 3, Article 8 if Order of Protection sought
6. Counsel for the child (formerly "law guardian") in custody, visitation, abuse / neglect, TPR (FCA § 241, § 1042)

Composition with other ny- skills

• ny-statewide-format — caption + format baseline; Family Court uses 22 NYCRR Part 205 with simplified procedural rules
• ny-pro-se — pro se framework (Family Court is predominantly pro se for petitioners on family-offense, custody, support — Article 10 / juvenile delinquency respondents have assigned counsel right)
• ny-deadlines — Support Magistrate 35-day objection clock + Order of Protection 2/5-year duration
• ny-first-30-days — Answer + counter-petitions in Family Court are less formal than in Supreme Court; the petition is usually answered orally at first appearance
• ny-nyco, ny-kings etc. — Supreme Court Matrimonial Part for divorce + equitable distribution (Family Court handles parenting + support concurrently)
• ny-county-courts — appellate destination for some Family Court orders is the Appellate Division (the same Department as the Supreme Court for that county)

Pro-se resources

• NYS OCA Family Court forms — nycourts.gov/forms/familycourt/
• Court Help — nycourts.gov/courthelp/ — extensive Family Court material with petition walkthroughs
• NYC Family Justice Centers (Bronx, Brooklyn, Manhattan, Queens, Staten Island) — combined-services centers offering free legal assistance for family-offense matters
• Sanctuary for Families — NYC; family-offense focus
• Day One — NYC; family-offense / teen dating violence
• Pace Women's Justice Center — Lower Hudson; family-offense
• NYS OCFS Office of Children and Family Services — state-level oversight for foster care, adoption, juvenile justice; intake hotlines

High-yield Family Court checks

1. Article identification: is this Article 3 (JD), 4 (support), 5 (paternity), 6 (custody), 7 (PINS), 8 (family offense), 10 (abuse and neglect)?
2. Forum vs. matrimonial overlap: is there a parallel Supreme Court matrimonial action? Concurrent jurisdiction issue?
3. CSSA application: cap of $183,000 (2024) reached? Deviation grounds under paragraph (f)?
4. Support Magistrate 35-day objection clock for correcting calculation errors?
5. Order of Protection scope: qualifying-relationship established? Qualifying offense pled with PL section cite? Duration (2 years default, 5 with aggravating circumstances)?
6. Counsel rights: assigned counsel on Article 10 / TPR / Article 8 OP / JD requested + appointed?
7. NYC-specific: ACS as petitioner in Article 10? Right- to-Counsel under NYS not applicable in NYC because of Family Justice Center coverage?