‘Outrageous’: Kevin Costner’s ex demands he pay $855,000 for court fight she could lose

Some would say that Kevin Costner’s estranged wife, Christine Baumgartner, doesn’t know how to quit while she’s ahead.

Baumgartner keeps losing key court rulings in her highly contentious divorce from the rich and powerful movie star, but she seems determined to press ahead with challenging a provision in their prenuptial agreement, which she signed before she married him in 2004. Even more “outrageous,” according to Costner’s attorney: Baumgartner wants him to pay the $855,000 she says her lawyers need to pursue this risky legal gambit, TMZ reported Tuesday. 

Costner’s high-profile divorce lawyer, Laura Wasser, has questioned in court documents whether Baumgartner’s legal team would even need close to $1 million to challenge the prenuptial agreement, TMZ reported. At that amount, her attorneys would have to put in more than 1,100 in billable hours to justify the fee. Wasser also said that Costner has already paid Baumgartner $300,000 in legal fees and alleges she took another $105,000 from his accounts to pay her lawyers.

Another reason that Baumgartner’s $855,000 demand is “nothing short of outrageous,” Wasser said, is because her challenge will probably lead to a dead end, TMZ reported. The Santa Barbara County Superior Court judge handling the case has already indicated that the prenup is enforceable. A hearing over Baumgartner’s challenge is scheduled for November.

Under the terms of the prenup, Baumgartner is expected to receive $1.5 million from the “Yellowstone” star. But these terms also say that Baumgartner forfeits this settlement if she challenges any provision of the prenup, reports have said. She also could use up a sizable portion of her settlement to pay her lawyers — if the court rules that Costner isn’t obligated to cover any of her court costs.

“It’s a very dangerous game she’s playing,” Christopher Melcher, a Los Angeles-based family law attorney, told this news organization in July. Melcher, who has worked with a number or high-profile clients, said she could be “financially wiped out” by her court challenges.

“She has a lot more to lose here than he does,” Melcher said. “However this turns out, Kevin will always be rich, and he’ll be fine.”

Judge Thomas Anderle has already sided with the actor and director in several key rulings.

Anderle found that the prenup was enforceable when it came to the provision that Baumgartner needed to leave the family home in the event of a divorce. After Baumgartner filed for divorce on May 1, after 18 years of marriage, the former model initially seemed determined to stay put in their $145 million oceanfront estate near Santa Barbara with their three children. sons Cayden, 15, and Logan, 14, and daughter Grace, 12.

But Anderle ruled that Baumgartner needed to vacate the home by the end of July. She has since settled into a four-bedroom home in Montecito, which rents for $40,000 a month and includes a pool, hot tub and one acre of gardens, Us Weekly reported.

More recently, a two-day evidentiary hearing ended with Anderle rejecting Baumgartner’s initial request for $248,000 a month in child support, Insider reported.

Baumgartner had said this staggering amount was necessary so that their children could enjoy a “comparable” lifestyle with her that they have with their father, whom she said has a net worth of $400 million, reports said. At the hearing, Baumgartner’s attorney, John Rydell, also said that the luxury, oceanside lifestyle the three children enjoyed at the family’s Santa Barbara compound was “in their DNA.” But on the stand, Costner shot back and said he was concerned that his estranged wife’s financial demands were less about “the needs of my children” and more about “the needs of Christine.”

After temporarily ordering Costner to pay $129,755 a month in child support, Anderle reduced the amount down to $63,000 a month. That’s the amount Costner said was “appropriate,” and Anderle agreed, reports said.

In addition, court documents filed Monday show that Costner initially offered to give Baumgartner $75,000 a month in child support as a way to counter his soon-to-be ex-wife’s “unrealistic and frankly outrageous” settlement requests, Insider reported.

“In fact, on June 30, 2023, Kevin offered to pay Christine $75,000 per month in support in addition to paying 100% of the children’s unreimbursed medical, extracurricular and school expenses,” a brief filed by Costner’s team read, Insider reported.  “But Christine would have none of it.”

So Baumgartner ended up receiving $11,791 less per month in child support than she could have received.

In another pivotal ruling, Anderle ordered Baumgartner to cover $14,000 in fees that Costner has paid his lawyers for some of the work they’ve done as she challenges the prenuptial agreement, People reported. These costs, Anderle said, were incurred as the attorneys sought clarity on her interpretation of their prenuptial agreement.

Anderle underscored the significance of this ruling, deeming it a “case of consequence,” People also reported.