I've been ordered to pay the first and second mortgage in lieu of a portion of alimony and child support payments. The amount I pay in the two mortgages exceeds the individual amounts paid for both child support and alimony but is less than the sum of the two. The decree does not specify that the mortgages are to be paid in lieu of one or the other first and then carry over to the other; it just states that they are to be paid "...as a partial payment of alimony and child support." The title and mortgages remain in both spouses names but the mortgage is paid by direct deposit from my bank account. Am I able to take all or a portion of the mortgage interest as a deduction in addition to the deduction I will take for the alimony amount? Should it be assumed that half of the mortgage payments would go toward alimony and half toward child support thus each of us claim half of the mortgages interest as a deduction and then reduce the reported income and deductions for alimony by the amount (half of the mortgage payments) being assigned to the alimony? Sorry, long question and my attorney is unsure in this matter.
