A new court filing from the estranged wife of Kevin Costner is asking the actor to provide $248,000 a month in child support for their three teenage children.
In a declaration filed on June 16 to Santa Barbara County Superior Court and obtained by NBC News, a signed, first person declaration from Christine Baumgartner states that she also wants Costner to continue covering the cost of their kids' private school tuition, extracurriculars and health care expenses.
Costner and Baumgartner share three children: Cayden, 16; Hayes, 14, and Grace, 13.
In her declaration, Baumgartner states that she has no income and has been a stay-at-home parent since welcoming Cayden in 2007.
She says that their "marital lifestyle, including that of the children, was consistent with Kevin’s longterm exceedingly high-income."
"I realize that our lifestyle is extraordinary. I appreciate how very blessed we are to live this way," she wrote. "It’s important to not only to provide a warm and comfortable home for our children but to also teach them family values and gratitude."
In a personal declaration filed on June 9, Costner said that Baumgartner has refused to move out of his home since filing for divorce on May 1, 2023. He said that prior to getting married, Baumgartner and he both signed a prenuptial agreement that codified that their Santa Barbara-area home was his property and a premarital asset.
In a separate memo filed by her legal team also on June 16, Baumgartner's legal team notes that the children are used to an "exceptionally high" standard of living. The court documents cite things like the home the children grew up in — which is three separate houses that have "effectively been combined into one large living space" with a private oceanfront beach, an infinity pool and their own bedrooms — and extensive travel and parties.
Baumgartner's forensic accountant determined from the former couple's shared banking information that Costner's average monthly cash flow is $1,536,808.
Her legal team cites California Family Code section 4053, which states that children should "share in the standard of living of both parents" and acknowledges that child support may "improve the standard of living of the custodial household to improve the lives of the children."
"The child support that Christine is requesting may seem large, but her request is in accord with California statutory and case law," Baumgartner's team wrote in the June 16 filing. "This is precisely the type of case that demands an upward deviation so that the children will at least approach the standard of living of their father."
In Costner's June 9 filing, his legal team had noted that he had paid Baumgartner $100,000 upon their marriage and another $100,000 on their first anniversary, per their prenuptial agreement, and had also paid her the prenup's required $1,000,000 after she filed for divorce.
Baumgartner's filings on June 16 state that she has not touched the money Costner paid her pursuant to their prenup.
"I believe that Kevin’s goal is to get me to tap into this money, so he can argue that I’ve waived my right to challenge the Premarital Agreement," she wrote, adding that she "cannot make this concession (and does) not accept payment."
She said she'd instructed their family accountant to remove the funds from her account, but he had not done so.
In the June 16 filings, Baumgartner also requested Costner advance an additional $350,000 in attorney’s fees and $150,000 in forensic accounting costs.
Costner's team did not immediately respond to TODAY.com's request for comment on June 21. Baumgartner's legal team declined to comment.
