Paying a dead ex-wife

Ohio news:

Joe Randolph, 44, has been instructed by Licking County Child Support Enforcement Agency officials that he must continue the payments until a court tells him he can stop. Thus, he has been paying more than $1,300 per month to nobody in particular.

Sharon Buckingham, a Newark woman who had custody of the couple's children, died April 25 at age 40.

"I ask the burning question, 'Who are they going to send the money to?'" said Randolph's attorney, Jerry Swank. "I think it's just pure silliness. We have a court date in January. I hope it will be resolved before then." ...

Nancy Johnson, director of the Licking County CSEA, said the situation is unusual but can't be resolved through an administrative order.

"When a custodial parent dies, we really don't have the statutory authority to terminate child support," Johnson said. "The CSEA doesn't terminate child support; the court order does. It's certainly a very unfortunate situation and something we've done everything we can to rectify."

The case was set for court, but with 2,000 cases per year in Domestic Relations Court, the earliest date was six months away.

"I'm not sure they knew what to do," Randolph said. "I got the impression that they were going to terminate the order and they had the authority to do that."

Randolph said the combination of making the payments and having custody of the children seriously has stretched his finances.

The point here is that he has 100% custody of the kids, the ex-wife is dead, and he still has to pay child support!