Hollywood actor, Kevin Costner’s estranged wife Christine Baumgartner has branded the actor’s proposed $51,940 a month in child support ‘inappropriate’ amid their ongoing divorce.
Baumgartner, 49, had previously demanded $248,000 a month in child support – which Costner claimed in legal documents was partly to fund her own plastic surgery expenses – and the star has offered up a new sum in the exes’ court battle over their finances.
However, Baumgartner has called the proposal ‘completely inappropriate’ in new legal documents and claimed Costner ‘spends $240,000 a month on himself and the kids when they’re with him’.
The former couple share three children together, Cayden 16, Hayes, 14, and Grace 13. Costner also has four adult children from previous relationships.
Baumgartner says $52,000 is ‘well below’ the $65,000 per month she claims Costner was getting for renting out a guest house at his $100 million beachfront compound.
She claims $52,000 is not enough to keep the children in a lifestyle they are accustomed to, TMZ reports.
She states the children are ‘used to living at the beach and in a gated neighborhood’ with a team of people maintaining the home, such as assistants to do grocery shopping and cleaning – and that she needs the money for expenses such as utilities and TV bills.
This comes after Costner’s forensic accountant claimed in new court documents that the expenses listed among the $248,000 include more than $100,000 in cosmetic surgery for Baumgartner as well as thousands of dollars in boutique shopping, huge ATM withdrawals and other expenses ‘not to do with child support.’
Among Christine’s listed expenses are credit card bills and her own attorney fees and construction loans.
Costner’s accountant says these are ‘one-time expenses that have nothing to do with child support.’
The documents claim Costner has been paying all of the children’s expenses and will continue to do so, saying the amount he is currently paying is the reasonable amount – $51,940 a month.
Documents from earlier this month show that Costner pulled in just over $19.5 million in 2022 with the family’s expenses listed as being $6.6 million for the same year. The family’s net worth is put at $7.5 million, according to the People report.
Meanwhile, Costner claims he was ‘required’ to reduce Baumgartner‘s credit card limit. In documents obtained by Us Weekly he stated he ‘agreed to maintain the status quo with respect to our children.’
‘Christine says I have not maintained the status quo because I cancelled one of her credit cards and because I put (a large) limit on the use of the credit card she uses,’ the actor wrote in his declaration.
However he noted that he has ‘continued to pay all of the children’s expenses’ since Baumgartner filed for divorce. After Baumgartner withdrew $45,000 ‘without notice’ Costner felt that he had to put a limit on the cards.
‘It was then that I made the decision that there needed to be some reasonable limitation on the use of the credit cards,’ he stated.
His attorney claimed he was ‘left with no choice but to cancel’ the card, which initially had a limit of $15,000 per month, that he believed would be enough ‘to cover any emergencies for the children.’
This comes after claims Costner is ‘relieved’ after Baumgartner was ordered to vacate the $145 million mansion they had previously shared during a first court hearing in the couple’s divorce on Wednesday.
The handbag designer has until the end of the month to vacate the California home that she and the actor and director lived in – with a source telling People Costner is satisfied with the ruling.
‘He was relieved,’ the insider noted.
Baumgartner was also pictured looking somber in Santa Barbara, California, on Wednesday as she made her way to and from the first court hearing in the couple’s already-rancorous divorce.
The latest development comes after Baumgartner had agreed to leave the family home, but only on her own terms.
