On behalf of Stange Law Firm, PC posted in Child Support on Wednesday, February 25, 2015.
It is our hope that our readers in Illinois, Missouri and elsewhere find the following divorce-related story instructive rather than purely voyeuristic, given that its details do highlight a few germane points regarding money matters in marital splits.
And what a story it is. Candidly, and as a family law firm with centrally strong Illinois ties, it would be a bit difficult for us to avoid mentioning the ongoing developments in the contentious Illinois divorce battle between Kenneth Griffin and Anne Dias Griffin.
Bottom line: Everything about the Griffin’s divorce proceedings seems singularly outsized. Dias Griffin has asked for child support payments of close to $1 million per month for the couple’s three young children. That includes money for a private jet, vacations, food (note our above headline) and salaries paid to four nannies.
Kenneth Griffin calls his wife’s demands “exorbitant.” Moreover, he states in a recent court filing challenging Dias Griffin’s budget that much of the money demanded has nothing to do with child support; rather, it is simply to maintain the status quo to which his wife has become accustomed.
Unsurprisingly, Dias Griffin begs to differ, with one of her spokespersons saying that Griffin is seeking “to avoid his financial responsibilities to his family.”
It doesn’t seem arguable whether Griffin can in fact afford to pay the amount being demanded, being a hedge fund billionaire.
That status doesn’t dissuade him from expressing frustration over his wife’s mandate, though, and what he says is a camouflaged attempt to use the couple’s children to collect money for other reasons.
Note: Even in a case where many readers might reasonably view a support award as being irrationally large, such an award can still withstand judicial scrutiny. In Illinois, as in other states, the standard of living that a spouse and children typically enjoyed during marriage is a relevant barometer for gauging post-divorce payments.
Source: CNN Money, “This billionaire’s wife wants $1 million a month after divorce,” Jillian Eugenios, Feb. 24, 2015
