Attempting to do so is likely to be unproductive. For example, suppose that you now live in St. Lucie County, but the children live in Brevard County with their mother. If you attempt to file in St. Lucie County, more than likely the mother will file a motion to change the venue. The motion would probably be granted because the original action was filed in Brevard County and the children still reside there. It could end up costing you more time, aggravation and money if you file in St. Lucie County rather than just filing from the start in Brevard County.

First of all, it would be better if you were not paying the mortgage any longer. Your settlement agreement should have included language requiring your ex-wife to assume the existing mortgage or refinance the home loan. Assuming such a provision was not included in the original settlement, you may now want to file a petition requesting that the court modify the settlement agreement to require your ex-wife to either assume or modify the mortgage. To get this approved, you would have to show a substantial change in circumstances. The fact that you can’t get a mortgage may qualify as a substantial change in circumstances. Regarding the mortgage interest, if you are not currently paying on the mortgage and the settlement agreement does not allow you to claim the mortgage interest, you would have a difficult time trying to claim it. If your ex-wife is paying the mortgage and can show that she is doing so, she would be able to argue to the IRS that she — not you — is the only one eligible to claim the interest. If you claim the interest anyway, you could end up paying fines and late fees on your taxes.