How to Start a Case in Queens Family Court

You must first file a petition (pe-TI-shun). A petition is when you ask the judge to make a decision about something. The person who starts a case is called the petitioner. The person on the other side is called the respondent. The petitioner and the respondent are called the parties.

• Abuse or Neglect of Children
• Adoption
• Child Support
• Custody
• Guardianship/Standby Guardianship
• Juvenile Delinquency
• Order of Protection or OP
• Paternity – Order of Filiation
• PINS (Persons In Need of Supervision)
• Spousal Support
• Visitation
• Voluntary Placement of Child into Foster Care

The earlier you get to court the better because you might not have to wait as long to get everything done. Try to get there by 8:30 am. You will probably have to wait on a long line to go through a metal detector.

The Queens Family Court is located at 151-20 Jamaica Avenue.

To begin a case about child support for children who ARE on public assistance (welfare), you must go to the Manhattan Family Court (60 Lafayette Street, between Franklin and Leonard streets), Room 1C on the 1st floor. This is the petition room for the Child Support Enforcement Term. Everyone who lives in New York City and has children on public assistance goes there. You will know that the children in the case are on public assistance if your case title looks like this:

City of New York o/b/o [mother’s name] v. [father’s name]

• To begin a child support case for children who live in Queens and are NOT on public assistance, go to the CAP Unit 1 Window of the Queens Family Court, on the 1st floor to the left of the escalator.
• To get an order of protection (OP), go to the petition window on the 1st floor to the right of the escalator. An OP is a paper from a judge that makes rules about contact between people. You can filefor an OP when you believe that a family member or the parent of your child might hurt you. The petition for an OP is called a family offense petition. The judge will see you the day you file for an OP. The judge may give you a temporary order of protection (TOP). The TOP usually lasts until the next court date. For more information, see the Family Legal Care guide, “Orders of Protection.”
• If you want someone to help you file for an order of protection, go to Safe Horizon in Room A270.
• To voluntarily (vol-un-TAYR-i-lee) place a child in foster care, go to New York City Children’s Services (which used to be called the Administration for Children’s Services or ACS) at 164-15 Archer Avenue in Queens. Voluntarily means you agree to it.
• To bring a PINS (Persons in Need of Supervision) petition against a child who is under the age of 18, go to Room 492 on the agency side of the building. For more information on PINS, see the Family Legal Care guide, “The PINS Process.”
• For all other cases, go to the petition window to the right of the escalators, and tell the clerk what kind of petition you want to file.

1. The clerk will give you a form to fill out and return. Bring a pen so that you can fill out the form.

2. After you give the form back to the clerk, you will wait for your name to be called. Bring something to read, because you may have to wait a long time.

3. The clerk will type up your petition.

4. You may see a judge that day. If you do not, you will be given papers to serve on (give to) the respondent and a date to return to court. This is called the return date.

5. Before leaving, make sure you have all of the papers that need to be served, the Affidavit (aff-i-DAYV-it) of Service, and instructions on how to serve them. See the Family Legal Care guide “Serving Court Papers” for information on how to serve the papers and what to do with the Affidavit of Service.

Bring a copy of your petition and the notarized Affidavit of Service. Also, bring any other documents that may be important to your case, such as birth certificates, old court orders, photographs, police reports, receipts, bank statements, and school records.

Try not to bring your children to court. The courthouse has a Children’s Center, but you can only leave your child there while you are in the courtroom. If possible, leave your children at home with a babysitter. The Children’s Center is in Room 180-188. The Children’s Center is run by an organization called Safe Horizon.

Yes. If you do not have money for a lawyer, you may be able to get the court to appoint one for you for free. Usually the court will not appoint a lawyer when you go to court for a child support case.

Go to the part. The part is the courtroom. Every judge has a part. The part number is on the papers you received on the day you started the case. There is also a master calendar on the first floor by the information desk, which has all of the cases for the day posted on it. If it is a new juvenile delinquency case, it will be in D Intake.

You will see a court officer near the part for your judge. Sometimes the officer is inside the part. Do not go into the part – wait for the officer to come out. Sometimes the officer will come out and tell everyone in the waiting room to “check in for part [#].” If this happens, and you have not already checked in, you should get in line. When you get to the front of the line, tell the officer that you are there and that you are ready. This is called checking in. If the officer does not call out, you can go up to the officer. Stay in the waiting room until your case is called.

If you do not know where to go, ask a court officer or a Family Legal Care staff member in the lobby. If you forgot your papers, go to the Record Room to look up your case. The Record Room is located in Room B-40 in the cellar. Take the elevator to the c-level.

You should bring a letter that explains why you cannot attend BEFORE the scheduled court date. Take the letter to Room 561. The judge will read it ON the date your case is scheduled. You will have to check the court file or contact the court after that date to find out what happened. If you cannot bring a letter, call the court and ask how you can let the judge know that you will not be able to attend the court date.

If you do not show up for your court date, and the court does not know why, the judge can issue an order anyway. If you are the person who filed the petition, the judge may close the case.

When your case is called, you will go before the judge. Be prepared to explain your case simply and clearly. To help remember what you want to say, write it down before you go to court. Try not to speak for a long time. Speak only about the topic being discussed. Judges want you to get right to the point. They hear as many as 80 cases in one day. When you talk, the judge may break in to ask a question or make a comment.

The more evidence you have to support your statements, the better. Evidence is the information presented to prove a case. If you have witnesses (people who can support what you are saying), bring them. The judge may let them speak. Keep in mind that this is not the actual trial. If the judge does not let your witnesses speak, they may be able to testify (speak) at the trial, if there is one. Sometimes you have to go to court many times before there is a trial.

Do not be surprised if the judge does not make a decision right away. Most family court cases take many months to finish.

The judge may issue an order. An order is a decision made by the court. You should make copies of the order and keep them in a safe place. If you are issued an order of protection, you may want to keep it on you at all times.

You must obey court orders. Before you leave court, make sure you understand exactly what is expected of you so you can comply with the order. Comply means do what the order says. You can be held in contempt of court – and even arrested – for violating (VY-o-lay-ting) a judge’s order. Violate means not follow the rules.

If it is a final order, it stays in effect until a new case is brought to court that changes the order or a specific date or event occurs that ends it. If it is a temporary order, it is good until a certain time – usually until the next court date.

If you disagree with a judge’s decision, you may appeal. An appeal is when you ask to have a higher court review (look at) your case. For more information on appealing a court decision, go to the office of the clerk on the 5th floor. Also, see the Family Legal Care guide, “Appealing Family Court Orders.”