As reported by CNBC and CNN Money, the estranged wife of Citadel LLC founder Ken Griffin is seeking a whopping $1 million per month child support award from the wealthy hedge fund manager. Specifically, according to Anne Dais Griffin, she is seeking the child support award to provide the couple's three children with "the support to which they are accustomed and entitled under Illinois law." From Anne Griffin's perspective, the requested child support amount is based on an accounting of the couple's child care expenses while they were married. However, Ken Griffin contends that Anne is seeking the hefty child support award to support her own spending habits.
Assuming $1 million per month is truly reflective of how much the couples spent each month to care for their children during the marriage, Anne may be justified is seeking this award. According to Illinois state law concerning the calculation of child support:
"(a) In a proceeding for dissolution of marriage, legal separation, declaration of invalidity of marriage, a proceeding for child support following dissolution of the marriage by a court that lacked personal jurisdiction over the absent spouse, a proceeding for modification of a previous order for child support under Section 510 of this Act, or any proceeding authorized under Section 501 or 601 of this Act, the court may order either or both parents owing a duty of support to a child of the marriage to pay an amount reasonable and necessary for the support of the child, without regard to marital misconduct. The duty of support owed to a child includes the obligation to provide for the reasonable and necessary educational, physical, mental and emotional health needs of the child. For purposes of this Section, the term "child" shall include any child under age 18 and any child under age 19 who is still attending high school.
(1) The Court shall determine the minimum amount of support by using the following guidelines:
Number of Children Percent of Supporting Party's Net Income
1 20%
2 28%
3 32%
4 40%
5 45%
6 or more 50%
(2) The above guidelines shall be applied in each case unless the court finds that a deviation from the guidelines is appropriate after considering the best interest of the child in light of the evidence, including, but not limited to, one or more of the following relevant factors:
(a) the financial resources and needs of the child;
(b) the financial resources and needs of the custodial parent;
(c) the standard of living the child would have enjoyed had the marriage not been dissolved;
(d) the physical, mental, and emotional needs of the child;
(d-5) the educational needs of the child; and
(e) the financial resources and needs of the non-custodial parent.
If the court deviates from the guidelines, the court's finding shall state the amount of support that would have been required under the guidelines, if determinable. The court shall include the reason or reasons for the variance from the guidelines."
750 ILCS 5/505 Sec. 505. Specifically, as highlighted in the Illinois law quoted above, in determining child support, the court may take into consideration the standard of living the child or children would have had if the divorcing parents stayed together.
It should be noted that Illinois law concerning child support is distinctly different from Georgia law concerning the calculation of child support. As can be seen above, presumptive child support amounts in Illinois are calculated according to the percentages set out in the chart above. On the other hand, child support in Georgia is calculated according to Georgia's Child Support Calculator. This is just one of the differences between child support laws in the various states. With this being said, it is extremely important to seek the advice of a team of experienced Atlanta child support attorneys if you are considering divorce or child support modification in Georgia.