Kevin Costner and his estranged wife Christine Baumgartner are embroiled in an escalating legal dispute over child support. The new court documents show that Costner is opposing Baumgartner’s request for temporary child support, arguing that his demands are unreasonable and are intended to fund his personal expenses rather than the needs of his children.
The court documents, obtained by Yahoo Entertainment, suggest that Baumgartner’s request for $248,000 a month in child support is unrelated to the children’s actual expenses. In this regard, Costner’s legal team questions Baumgartner’s detailed list of “needs,” which includes $188,500 a month for plastic surgery and personal training services.
“Christine’s list of minor children’s ‘needs’ for child support purposes is inflated and grossly inaccurate,” the document states. According to the lawyers, Baumgartner has not shown that the requested amount is necessary to cover the reasonable needs of the children.
Likewise, Costner’s defense denies that the children use the services of private trainers or need such high expenses in plastic surgery. Therefore, there is only one person who can be benefiting from these services. “The children do not use the services of private trainers, only Christine. Plastic surgery expenses of $188,500 per month belong to Christine, not the children,” the documents state.
In addition, as reported by US Weekly, Costner has alleged a decrease in his income due to the end of his contract with the Yellowstone series. “I will earn substantially less in 2023 than I did in 2022. This is because I am no longer under contract to Yellowstone, the main source of my income last year,” Costner said in court documents. In the event that he did what his wife still asks, he would have to liquidate his assets.
As an alternative that he could take, Costner has proposed a monthly payment of $51,940 in child support. In addition, she has offered to cover the costs of the children’s health insurance, extracurricular activities, her daughter’s private school tuition, and her son’s car expenses.
