Kevin Costner challenges wife Christine Baumgartner’s demand for $885,000 in divorce attorney fees
Kevin Costner’s legal team has rejected a request from his ex-wife Christine Baumgartner for $885,000 in attorney and expert fees ahead of their November trial over the couple’s prenuptial agreement.
Baumgartner asked the court that Costner pay $575,000 in attorney fees and $280,000 in expert fees, according to court documents obtained by Fox News Digital. Costner’s team says it will pay for 1,106 attorney hours at a rate of $800 an hour to prepare for the November trial, which will decide whether waiving spousal support is “unconscionable” starting in Today.
“When the numbers are this big, it’s easy to lose sight of the true value of those numbers,” Costner’s team wrote in legal documents obtained by Fox News Digital.
Baumgartner and Costner’s teams disagree on what should be heard by the court in the impending trial. The handbag designer’s team plans to analyze her marital standard of living as well as evidence showing how much Costner earns, but Costner’s lawyers say that’s not necessary.
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Kevin Costner criticized his estranged wife’s most recent request for increased attorney fees in a new court filing. (Getty Images)
In his presentation, Costner explained to the court that Baumgartner’s accounting team had already done most of the marital standard of living analysis because of the back-and-forth now decided on child support.
A representative for Baumgartner did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital’s request for comment.
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Baumgartner’s request for additional money comes as the court ordered him to pay $14,237.50 in attorney fees. Costner requested the amount from Baumgartner after she “refused in bad faith” to answer questions from the “Yellowstone” actor’s legal team. The 49-year-old was asked to answer Costner’s questions and pay the fee by September 22.
The actor’s ex-wife was already awarded $300,000 in legal fees by the court on July 12. Additionally, Baumgartner allegedly withdrew $105,000 from Costner’s bank account for additional charges.
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Christine Baumgartner and her lawyer John Rydell leave court on July 12. (Fox News Digital)
A judge ruled that Costner’s monthly child support payments would not be increased on September 1, after two days of intense testimony. Judge Thomas Anderle’s ruling set the new monthly child support amount at $63,209. Costner is also now solely responsible for the children’s health care, private school tuition, extracurricular activities and car expenses of the couple’s eldest son.
Baumgartner had requested that the payment be increased by $31,837 for a monthly total of $161,592. It had been temporarily set at $129,755.
“Alimony in excess of $63,209 per month is disguised spousal support,” Anderle wrote in his filed decision. “Christine will have the opportunity to convince the Court that she is entitled to spousal support.”
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Christine Baumgartner requested $885,000 in legal fees from Kevin Costner. (Frazer Harrison/Getty Images)
When the “Field of Dreams” star left court after child support was decided, he exclusively told Fox News Digital that he felt there were “no winners.”
“You know, when you live with someone that long, there’s no winners…and it’s this big, crazy thing called life and how it unravels so quickly,” he declared. “One minute you feel like you’re on top of the world, then you realize how vulnerable you are.”
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As for his plans to co-parent with Baumgartner, Costner is sure the former couple will understand it. “She’s an incredible mom,” he told Fox News Digital. “We’ll find out and we’ll share. We just have to be in recovery right now.”
Baumgartner first filed for divorce from Costner in May, citing the separation date as April 11. The couple shares three children together: Caden, Hayes and Grace.
Christine Baumgartner filed for divorce from Kevin Costner in May. (Getty Images)
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