Kevin Costner, Christine Baumgartner divorce: What’s at stake for ‘Yellowstone’ star and ex-wife post split
A judge tentatively ruled Tuesday that Costner must pay Baumgartner $129,755 in child support
Christine Baumgartner filed for divorce from Kevin Costner in May after 18 years of marriage.
Since filing her petition on the grounds of “irreconcilable differences,” Baumgartner has battled against Costner both in legal documents and in the courtroom for her fair share of assets acquired since they married in 2004.
The Academy Award-winning actor was previously married to Cindy Silva for 16 years before they split in 1994. Silva was reportedly given an $80 million settlement.
Ahead of Wednesday’s court appearance, and a new filing from Costner requesting Baumgartner to pay nearly $100,000 in his attorney’s fees, we take a look at what’s at stake for the estranged couple in their bitter breakup.
Carpinteria Compound
Costner purchased a massive, ocean-front property outside of Santa Barbara, California, prior to marrying Baumgartner.
The 10-acre compound, which includes a baseball field, multiple residences and 500 feet of a private beach, was once listed in 2017 for $60 million, but Costner removed the property from the market before it was sold.
The estate is now worth an estimated $145 million.
One major contention in their divorce involved Baumgartner refusing to leave the multimillion-dollar residences after they broke up.
A pre-marital agreement allegedly stipulated that Baumgartner would not only move out of the home within 30 days, but also no longer live in any of his properties if they divorced.
Baumgartner refused to leave the residence more than two months after filing for divorce, and Judge Thomas Anderle ordered her to vacate the premise, with a move out date set for July 31.
In his initial declaration, Costner claimed to have deposited $1 million into her account as part of their pre-marital agreement. The agreement also stipulated she received a total of $200,000 upon marriage and after their first anniversary. Costner said that sum has now grown to “$1,450,000, which she can use at her discretion, including to find alternative housing.”
Baumgartner responded to the courts saying that she has “not accepted the funds that Kevin attempted to transfer and requested they be returned pending that determination. Accordingly, the funds deposited in that account continue to belong to Kevin, and there is no reasonable explanation for Kevin’s insistence that Christine use those funds for fees.”
She claimed Costner was being disingenuous with claims of doing the most [he] can reasonably do to make a divorce as seamless as possible for our children” as his actions showed “precisely the opposite” when he “sought to evict his wife and children from their home.”
Costner denied the allegation that he was “kicking” their kids out of the house, and said that the children would be in the home “during the time they are in my custody.”
When Costner offered $51,000-per-month for custody, she wrote in a declaration, “I cannot provide housing and care for the children at anything close to their accustomed lifestyle with the $51,000/mo. Kevin proposes to pay in child support.”
Money Matters
Baumgartner submitted a forensic accountant’s report that showed Costner’s actual gross cash flow for the 2022 calendar year as $24,518,887, or $2,043,241 per month.
She initially requested $248,000 monthly child support from Costner but will receive $129,755 per month according to a tentative ruling set by Judge Anderle Tuesday.
The estranged couple will each be required to pay 50% of their three children’s health care expenses, sports and extracurricular activities.
In documents obtained by Fox News Digital, Baumgartner first filed for divorce from the “Field of Dreams” actor on May 1, citing “irreconcilable differences.” The date of separation was listed as April 11, 2023.
The “Dances With Wolves” star and Baumgartner both filed for joint custody of their three children: Cayden, 16, Hayes, 14, and Grace, 13.
Costner will be required to pay $200,000 in attorney’s fees and $100,000 in forensic costs.
Payments will be made on the “first of each month” with “credit for sums paid between July 1 and July 12,” per court documents.
What’s Next
Costner made his own filing Monday, and requested Baumgartner pay $99,225 in attorney’s fees and costs from his lawyers litigating the prenup in May and June, in documents obtained by Fox News Digital.
“Respondent incurred attorneys’ fees of $29,850 with Misho Law Group for work directly related to enforcement of the provision in the PMA (pre-marital agreement) that requires Petitioner to vacate Respondent’s separate property residence,” the documents stated.
“That work included, but was not limited to: phone conferences and emails to and from co-counsel, phone conferences with the client, drafting, review and revision of the request for orders, review of Petitioner’s opposition pleadings, review and revision of Respondent’s reply pleadings and attendance at the hearing on July 5, 2023.”
His main legal counsel, Laura Wasser, of Wasser, Cooperman & Mandles, wrote in the declaration that her practice had not yet “prepared invoices for time billed in July.”
Pages of redacted invoices from Wasser, Cooperman & Mandles were included in the filing, which included a $5,100 “review and revise” of a client declaration, “legal research” for $2,250, and “Review – Airbnb homes in Motecito” for $612.50.
The total sum of hours and amount billed on the 27-page invoice was also redacted from court records.
A court hearing regarding Costner’s new filing was set for Aug. 2.
