Kevin Costnerattended a court hearing Thursday regarding his estranged wifeChristine’s request for child support.
On Thursday, theYellowstoneactor was photographed alongside his team of lawyers, includingLaura Wasser, outside the Santa Barbara court during a lunch break.
Kevin Costner treats his team of lawyers to lunch in Santa Barbara.backgrid
backgrid
In his opening statement, John Rydell, Christine’s attorney, said they were reducing Christine’s child support request amount to $161,592 per month, per a forensic accountant’s latest assessment. Costner’s legal counsel proposed $60,000 per month.
Christine is currently receiving $129,000 inmonthly child supportfor the couple’s three children — sons Cayden, 16, and Hayes, 14, plus daughter Grace, 13 — after filing for divorce in May. The couple was married for 18 years.
Christine’s court filings said “forensics has determined that [Kevin’s] average cash flow available for support for the two-year period of 2021 and 2022 was $19,248,467 per year ($1,604,039 per month)."
Kevin Costner and Christine Baumgartner in 2015.Eric Charbonneau/Shutterstock
Eric Charbonneau/Shutterstock
“Based on this cash flow, and a 50/50 parenting time share, the guideline child support, which is presumptively correct under California law, is $175,057 per month,” the documents continued. The amount would have allowed the children to maintain a lifestyle that was considered “relatively comparable” to the one they were raised in, according to the documents.
During Thursday’s hearing, Rydell said that the lifestyle Christine and Costner’s children have grown accustomed to is “in their DNA at this point.”
“It’s so much more than this — it’s an experience," Christine told the court as she looked at evidentiary photos. “We’ve created quite a community,” she added, repeatedly referring tothe Santa Barbara compound she vacatedas “ours." The home, as stated in court, includes a volleyball court, a garden, an infinity pool and two guest houses.
Christine explained how a decrease in financial status would affect their kids. She said their children are “very connected to the ocean — it’s their home,” and noted the surf garage is 50 steps from “toes in the water."
Christine Costner and Kevin Costner in April 2022.Lester Cohen/Getty
Lester Cohen/Getty
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“Christine is trying to keep everything as normal as possible,” the source told PEOPLE in July.
At the time of their split, a rep for the actor said in a statement, “It is with great sadness that circumstances beyond his control have transpired which have resulted in Mr. Costner having to participate in a dissolution of marriage action.”
source: people.com
