First Aid

[First Aid]

What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)?Wisconsin

I am receiving a maintenance/family support payment. The kids are now grown and he wants to end the payment. The divore agreement left it as open indefintely. What are his chances of doing this?

Maraiage was 23 years. Divorced 12 years. Maintenence was based on equalizing income. I have a teaching degree but was not able to pursue teaching after marraige as we had to move every couple of years for his job or to add extra training to his career. The plan was to equalize our spendable income. The two children were shared custody and expenses. He has since remarried (twice) and both he and his wife have good paying professional jobs and have purchased a new spec house. I am employed with a lower salery at a non-profit. But without years of teaching experience and extra education during my marrage years, my salary is about equal to what I would be making in the teaching profession.

I have a friend who lives with me and pays a rent payment to help with my mortgage payment and expenses. My ex has taken me to court twice to reduce payments. The first time the court lowered the payment from $1000 to $800 month. The second , the court ordered no change.

Should I go to court and try to keep the amount the same? How do the courts view these payments these days? He will argue that our youngest child is on her own and that I should be supporting myself.What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)?

[Proserpina]

Originally Posted by First Aid

What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)?Wisconsin

I am receiving a maintenance/family support payment. The kids are now grown and he wants to end the payment. The divore agreement left it as open indefintely. What are his chances of doing this?

Very good actually. You have had at least 12 years to get yourself into a position where you can support yourself.

Should I go to court and try to keep the amount the same? How do the courts view these payments these days? He will argue that our youngest child is on her own and that I should be supporting myself.What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)?

He would be correct. Why does he need to continue?

[LdiJ]

What do your court orders say, word for word, about the "family support"?

Was the "family support" taxable income to you and tax deductible to him?

[First Aid]

Yes, the support is tax deductable to him and I pay the taxes as part of my income.

[First Aid]

Originally Posted by LdiJ

What do your court orders say, word for word, about the "family support"?

Was the "family support" taxable income to you and tax deductible to him?

"Until further order of the court, ____ shall pay family support to _____ in the amount of $1000 per month, commencing July 1, 1997. Such payments shall be payable in the amount of $462.54 from each of ____ bi-weekly paychecks.

The family support payments shall be inclidible in the income for _____ and shall be deductable by _____."

[LdiJ]

Originally Posted by First Aid

"Until further order of the court, ____ shall pay family support to _____ in the amount of $1000 per month, commencing July 1, 1997. Such payments shall be payable in the amount of $462.54 from each of ____ bi-weekly paychecks.

The family support payments shall be inclidible in the income for _____ and shall be deductable by _____."

1) You got seriously cheated. By calling it family support and treating the whole thing as spousal support he basically got away with deducting child support (which is NOT deductible) and sticking you with the tax burden of the child support.

2) It was also tax fraud for the same reason. His child support was treated as alimony. If it ends because the children are emancipated that just proves that it was child support all along and he committed tax fraud. The IRS would not be at all happy about that.

3) It says "until further order of the court". That means that he has to keep paying it until the COURT says he no longer has to pay it. Therefore it will be up to the judge to decide whether or not it continues.

However, unless there is a valid reason to order permanent alimony, 12 years of alimony after a 23 year marriage really would be about the right number of years, if not even a bit longer than the norm.