when does child support legally end in the state of florida ?

  The law in Florida states that child support is paid until a child turns 18 or graduates from high school, which ever first occurs, provided the child has a reasonable expectation of graduating before his/her 19th birthday, or the child emancipates, marries or joins the military.  If your final judgment was entered in another state, and then you moved to Florida, the law from the other state may be different and would likely govern. There are exceptions if the child has, for example, special needs, whereby the child cannot become self supporting.  HOWEVER, if your marital settlement agreement does not make any reference to child support "stepping down" as each of your children met the above criteria, you could be paying until your  obligation for the 13 year old terminates.  In the past few years the law changed to provide that final judgments/settlements, must calculate the anticipated date that each child will no longer be eligible for support and the "stepped down" amount of support.   That helps eliminate problems like you now seem to have. I would suggest that you have your settlement/final judgment reviewed by an attorney.  There may be a way to get your support reduced by petitioning the court, but without fully reviewing the language it would premature to reach a conclusion. Best of luck to you. Cindy Vova Law Office of Cindy S. Vova, P.A. 8551 West Sunrise Blvd., Suite 301 Plantation, FL 33322 954-316-3496 info@vovalaw.com