Kenya N. Rahmaan
One of the most difficult challenges a parent may face is the death of a child. But what about the parent traumatized by being forced to pay child support debt for a deceased child? Because the federal government does not establish specific guidelines concerning the termination of child support orders, the responsibility falls to the states to draft legislation. In Ohio, for instance, a child support order may be terminated for many reasons, including the child’s death or the person paying child support (Ohio State Bar Association, 2014).
Terminating a child support order because the child has died should be universal across the country. However, as shared with other child support issues, this law has not been adopted everywhere. Unfortunately, it is becoming more usual for parents to pay child support debt for a deceased child. Those same parents can expect little or no relief once they prove their child’s death to the courts. In 2014, a Kentucky man discovered he had been paying child support for his deceased son in Michigan.
Lionel Campbell, concerned about the continuation of child support payments, contacted the court and was told that the support was for his deceased son. Armed with the death certificate, he traveled to the state to prove that his son had passed away in 1988. According to Kimberly Craig of WXYZ Detroit (2013), Campbell was told he still owed about $43,000 for his deceased son. The thought that Michigan was still seeking child support after 25 years for a departed child should upset any citizen because the state is collecting and retaining that money under possibly fraudulent pretenses.
It is more disturbing because if Campbell had been making payments for the past 25 years, added fees and interest could be the only reason the debt is still extremely high. The agency’s failure to communicate with Mr. Campbell is a direct example of the government making parents indebted to the system for a lifetime for doing nothing more than becoming a parent. After Campbell protested the amount owed, Detroit did reduce his debt but not to zero. The latest audit resulted in what court officials believe to be an accurate amount of $6,460.08. This money that Michigan officials claim is owed will never be paid to the mother or the son. Payments that have been and continue to be paid on this account are 100% profit to the city of Detroit.
More recently, Indiana ordered an incarcerated father to pay child support for his deceased daughter. According to Douglas Walker of the Detroit Free Press (2014), the Indiana Court of Appeals upheld a ruling that David Shane must continue to pay 55% of his prison wage to catch up on his child support. It is difficult to understand how the government can force a parent to pay for an adult child and even more confusing to demand payment on behalf of a deceased child. Shane’s 18-year-old daughter, Ashlie, died in a Kentucky house fire in April 2006 (Walker, 2014). The court ordered Shane to pay 55% of his $.95 an hour income earned from working in the laundry facilities in the prison. Estimations of a 40-hour workweek and 30 days a monthly schedule would yield a dismal $228.00 for Shane to live on, albeit in prison.
After Indiana confiscates its child support arrears, the father will have approximately $100 monthly. The two tragedies only show how child support is less about the benefit and well-being of a child and more about generating revenues for the government. The child support agencies have transformed into a former welfare department collection agency all rolled up into one. The combination is wreaking havoc on an already disadvantaged population. And the agency wants the money, dead or alive.
Forcing citizens to pay interest, late fees, penalties, and child support payments on living children is already stressful. Making parents pay for that same debt for deceased children makes a bad situation even worse. It is a policy that needs to be banned. If the money is not benefiting the child, the reason for the collection is a lie.
References:
Craig, K. (2013, February 15). Father says he’s still paying child support for 3-year-old son who died 25 years ago – WXYZ.com. Retrieved April 24, 2014, from http://www.wxyz.com/news/father-says-hes-still-paying-child-support-for-3-year-old-son-who-died-25-years-ago
Ohio State Bar Association (2014, April 1). Child Support Orders Are Terminated for Many Reasons. Retrieved April 24, 2014, from https://www.ohiobar.org/ForPublic/Resources/LawYouCanUse/Pages/LawYouCanUse-617.aspx
Walker, D. (2014, March 31). Nation/World | Detroit Free Press | freep.com. Retrieved April 24, 2014, from http://www.freep.com/article/20140331/NEWS07/303310056/killer%20child%20support%20daught