Unhappy compromise: Kevin Costner’s estranged wife Christine Baumgartner is awarded $129,000 per month child support – just HALF the amount she demanded
- Costner, 68, had originally sought to pay close to $52K per month
- However, Baumgartner had requested an eye-popping $248K per month
- The decision is tentative and will be reassessed at a later hearing
Kevin Costner is on the hook for six-digit monthly payments after a judge ruled on a tentative child support arrangement.
The 68-year-old Yellowstone has been ordered to pay his estranged wife Christine Baumgartner, 49, a whopping $129,755 per month in child support payments.
That means the figure is considerably more than double what Costner had originally offered his ex, though it is also only a little over half of what she had been asking for.
The decision is only tentative and will be reassessed at a later hearing, according to court documents obtained by Fox News.
The decision comes after Baumgartner was ordered to vacate Costner’s mansion by July 31.
Major expense: Kevin Costner, 68, will pay over $129K per month to his estranged wife Christine Baumgartner, which is just over half of what she requested, according to TMZ; seen in 2015 in Santa Barbara, Calif.
The estranged couple’s gorgeous $145 million Santa Barbara compound is pictured
The details of the couples prenuptial agreement reportedly required her to move out within 30 days of either party filing for a divorce, a deadline she had missed after she was the first to file.
She previously said in court filings that she would leave the estate on August 31, following the results of a court date originally scheduled for July 12, though it is unclear if that hearing is still on the books.
In the documents, Baumgartner agreed to vacate the premises at the end of August as long as Costner complied ‘with whatever support and fee orders that the court makes on July 12,’ according to TMZ.
The latest decision stipulates that both Costner and his ex with split their children’s healthcare costs 50–50.
The former couple share three children: sons Cayden, 16; and Hayes, 14; along with their younger daughter Grace, 13.
They will also be splitting expenses down the middle for the kids’ pricy private school tuition, as well as their extracurricular activities, which includes sports.
Baumgartner had been to avoid paying those expenses all together, as she previously requested in filings that her ex cover them completely.
The $129,755 figure isn’t set in stone, and both Costner and Baumgartner will have a chance to challenge it at a future hearing in hopes of pushing it closer to their desired support amount.
However, TMZ notes that the final figure rarely changes much from the initial determination.
Costner also incurred additional expenses after the judge ordered him to pay $200,000 for his estranged wife’s attorney fees, along with an additional $100,000 for forensic costs.
The Waterworld star’s forensic accountant previously claimed that Baumgartner had spent more than $100,000 on cosmetic procedures, and that those past costs were factored into the amount ($248K) that she was requesting for child support.
His payments will have be due on the first of every month, though he will be credited for any payments he has already made since the start of July.
High figure: Costner had originally offered to pay close to $52K per month in child support, which is less than half of what he will now be paying Baumgartner; seen in 2008 in Scottsdale, Arizona
Split down the middle: The couple will split their children’s healthcare costs, private school tuition, sports and extracurricular activities 50–50; seen in 2003 in LA
Baumgartner had also requested that the court order Costner to make the payments go out via an automatic transfer, presumably to ensure that they could not be late, though that request was denied.
Costner is being represented by the famous divorce attorney Laura Wasser, who reportedly served as an inspiration for Laura Dern’s lawyer character in Noah Baumbach’s critically acclaimed film Marriage Story, which earned Dern an Academy Award for best supporting actress.
Wasser has defended the validity of the prenuptial agreement in court, and it appears that the judge is inclined to agree with her, although it is not a done deal yet.
A hearing to address the document’s validity won’t happen until November, and Baumgartner is expected to continue challenging it.
The judge has opted to follow the document’s provisions before considering it more fully at the later date, but the preliminary move to get Costner’s ex out of the house indicates that he may agree that the rest of the document is also valid.
TMZ previously reported that Baumgartner will also be forced to return $1.5 million paid to her by Costner if the judge determines that the prenup is valid, and she will also reportedly be forced to pay his attorneys’ fees for defending the document.
Baumgartner previously wrote in court filings that she was hesitant to leave her home without having a plan and funding in place, if only for the sake of her children, whom she doesn’t want to have to move multiple times.
She claimed that ‘Kevin wants me to rent [a] place without [a] financial plan in place. However, [I] have our three children to think about. It is contrary to their best interests to commit to rental that [I] may not be able to afford, particularly as that would ultimately lead to multiple relocations.
‘My goal has been and continues to be maintaining as much stability for our children as possible, which includes having the proper resources and plan in place so that [I] can establish [a] stable home for them, rather than making temporary and inconsistent housing arrangements,’ she continued.
Costner was not only the primary breadwinner, but the only person making money recently, and Baumgartner says in her filing that she has no income.
Moving out: Baumgartner was ordered to vacate Costner’s mansion by July 31 at a previous hearing held last week; seen together in 2014 in NYC
The Yellowstone star was on the hook to help his estranged wife relocate per their prenuptial agreement, but it was a relatively paltry sum for their lifestyle.
Costner would have paid her a reported $1 million to find a new home, but with California’s elevated home prices — particularly if she tried to stay near Costner — she may have had difficulty finding something similar to the luxury she and her children are accustomed to.
According to RadarOnline, Costner has deposited $1 million in Baumgartner’s bank account to get her to move out of his mansion, and he said he had previously given her $200,000 earlier in their marriage in line with their prenuptial agreement.
However, Baumgartner hasn’t touched the money, as she says doing so would rob her of her ability to contest their prenup’s validity.
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