§ 115. Jurisdiction of family court. (a) The family court has\nexclusive original jurisdiction over\n (i) abuse and neglect proceedings, as set forth in article ten;\n (ii) support proceedings, as set forth in article four;\n (iii) proceedings to determine paternity and for the support of\nchildren born out-of-wedlock, as set forth in article five;\n (iv) proceedings to permanently terminate parental rights to\nguardianship and custody of a child: (A) by reason of permanent neglect,\nas set forth in part one of article six of this act and paragraph (d) of\nsubdivision four of section three hundred eighty-four-b of the social\nservices law, (B) by reason of mental illness, intellectual disability\nand severe or repeated child abuse, as set forth in paragraphs (c) and\n(e) of subdivision four of section three hundred eighty-four-b of the\nsocial services law, and (C) by reason of the death of one or both\nparents, where no guardian of the person of the child has been lawfully\nappointed, or by reason of abandonment of the child for a period of six\nmonths immediately prior to the filing of the petition, where a child is\nunder the jurisdiction of the family court as a result of a placement in\nfoster care by the family court pursuant to article ten or ten-A of this\nact or section three hundred fifty-eight-a of the social services law,\nunless the court declines jurisdiction pursuant to section three hundred\neighty-four-b of the social services law;\n (v) proceedings concerning whether a person is in need of supervision,\nas set forth in article seven; and\n (vi) proceedings concerning juvenile delinquency as set forth in\narticle three.\n (b) The family court has such other jurisdiction as is set forth in\nthis act, including jurisdiction over habeas corpus proceedings and over\napplications for support, maintenance, a distribution of marital\nproperty and custody in matrimonial actions when referred to the family\ncourt by the supreme court, conciliation proceedings, and proceedings\nconcerning physically handicapped and developmentally disabled children.\n (c) The family court has such other jurisdiction as is provided by\nlaw, including but not limited to: proceedings concerning adoption and\ncustody of children, as set forth in parts two and three of article six\nof this act; proceedings concerning the uniform interstate family\nsupport act, as set forth in article five-B of this act; proceedings\nconcerning children in foster care and care and custody of children, as\nset forth in sections three hundred fifty-eight-a and three hundred\neighty-four-a of the social services law and article ten-A of this act;\nproceedings concerning former foster children as set forth in article\nten-B of this act; proceedings concerning destitute children, as set\nforth in article ten-C of this act; proceedings concerning guardianship\nand custody of children by reason of the death of, or abandonment or\nsurrender by, the parent or parents, as set forth in sections three\nhundred eighty-three-c, three hundred eighty-four and paragraphs (a) and\n(b) of subdivision four of section three hundred eighty-four-b of the\nsocial services law; proceedings concerning standby guardianship and\nguardianship of the person as set forth in part four of article six of\nthis act and article seventeen of the surrogate's court procedure act;\nproceedings concerning the interstate compact on juveniles as set forth\nin chapter one hundred fifty-five of the laws of nineteen hundred\nfifty-five, as amended; proceedings concerning the interstate compact on\nthe placement of children, as set forth in section three hundred\nseventy-four-a of the social services law; proceedings concerning the\nuniform child custody jurisdiction and enforcement act, as set forth in\narticle five-A of the domestic relations law; and proceedings concerning\nthe change of the name of a child as set forth in section sixty of the\ncivil rights law.\n (d) Notwithstanding subdivisions (a) through (c) of this section,\njurisdiction of the family court and tribal courts of Indian tribes\ndesignated by the Secretary of the Interior over those child custody\nproceedings provided for in articles three, seven, ten and ten-A of this\nact and sections three hundred fifty-eight-a and three hundred\neighty-four-b of the social services law involving Indian children as\ndefined in subdivision thirty-six of section two of the social services\nlaw shall be subject to the terms and conditions set forth in applicable\nsections of title twenty-five of the United States code; provided that\ntribal courts of Indian tribes designated as such by the state of New\nYork shall have jurisdiction over such child custody proceedings\ninvolving Indian children to the same extent as federally designated\nIndian tribes upon the approval of the state office of children and\nfamily services pursuant to section thirty-nine of the social services\nlaw.\n (e) The family court has concurrent jurisdiction with the criminal\ncourt over all family offenses as defined in article eight of this act.\n (f) The family court has jurisdiction to direct the commencement of\nproceedings to suspend the driving privileges, recreational licenses and\npermits, and license, permit, registration or authority to practice of\npersons who are delinquent in their child or combined child and spousal\nsupport obligations or persons who have failed, after receiving\nappropriate notice, to comply with summonses, subpoenas or warrants\nrelating to paternity and child support proceedings as set forth in\nsections four hundred fifty-eight-a, four hundred fifty-eight-b, four\nhundred fifty-eight-c, five hundred forty-eight-a, five hundred\nforty-eight-b, and five forty-eight-c of this act. Such jurisdiction\nshall include jurisdiction over all boards, departments, authorities or\noffices of the state for the purposes of implementing such section.\n
N.Y. Fam. Ct. Act § 115
Jurisdiction of family court
Known as the The Family Court Act
The act spans §§ 111–120 (10 sections).
2025-04-04
Official source: NYS Open Legislation (New York State Senate). Reproduced from public-domain New York statutes; confirm against the official source for the current text. Not legal advice.