I live in ND and have been divorced for 10 years. I have a 17 yr old son that I have custody of. In that time my ex has increased the size of his farm immensely, I have never received an increase in child support. I do know that he buys and sells his equipment often, which is something he did not do while we were married ( over 20 yrs). I am presuming that he is depreciating it out,, He also buys new snowmobiles and 4 wheelers often that can be used for cattle but are actually recreational. He also has replaced windows, doors,etc. on his house that he has done by friends, so I am almost positive it is said to been done on a barn or farm bldg. He refused to do any work on the house before. He also pays his children outlandish wages. Our daughter is 26 and fully employed 50 miles away. Our son is a jr in high school and very involved in sports. So they do not have much time to spend working on the farm. Do I have any chance of receiving more child support, or since he is a farmer can he continue to hide assets ?

He can try and hide, but that is where you and/or your attorney needs to require him to show what he is spending, show his life style and more

Unfortunately this happens a lot, I think, (from people I know in this situation), and even with good lawyers they can get away with it if they are clever with income and expense reporting. You might spend a lot to get nothing. It's worth a try though.

I am in the same situation as you. My ex-husband is also a farmer in ND. He has put on a $200,000 addition to his home and have bought many new vehicles. I am only receiving $200 a month for child support. I have just filled out a form from the IRS to report his tax violations that I am aware of. I am wanting to conduct information to my local representative, so they are aware of what is happening to the single mothers and children that are being affected by this "tax scheme".

When contacting a lawyer he informed me that the ND state law only goes by the last 5 years of their income tax to determine their child support amount. I feel that it should go by what they are "capable" of making or they should go by their taxes that exclude the amount of depreciation.