Child Support Legal Answers

My husband and I recently divorced and I was ordered to pay child support for our two children, who will be living primarily with him and visiting with me. I am self-employed and I itemize all of my deductions on my tax returns. I have been told that in some cases, child support payments may be deductible. Are these payments deductible in Florida and if so, is there a limit to the amount of the deduction? If I can deduct them, is there some specific way I have to make the payments to get the deduction, such as paying them directly to the Miami child support office?

My ex-wife is seeking to have a court order me to pay child support for my daughter even after she turns 18, which is in 6 months. I’ve paid regular child support, on time every month, since the divorce ten years ago. I’m ready to be done paying the support. The mother is telling me that I’m obligated to continue paying because our daughter has certain learning disabilities and special needs. I love my daughter and will always help her financially when she needs it but I don’t want to be ordered to continue to pay support to her mother rather than just directly helping her. Can I be required to pay the support beyond age 18?

My ex got a big promotion and moved with our kids to a part of New Orleans where the standard of living is very high. I get a lot of visitation with them and I didn’t want to lose it by being far away so I recently moved to be closer to them. I now pay much more for rent, food, and living expenses. She is taking me to court to try to increase child support because I’ve recently found a better job too. However, I’m not bringing much more money home than before because of the increased cost of living. In this child support hearing, will a judge consider that she moved my kids and I had to move as well if I wanted to keep all my visitation, and that it made my living expenses go up significantly? Or is the court just going to look at my gross income?