Kevin Costner attended a court hearing Thursday regarding his estranged wife Christina’s child support request.
On Thursday, Yellowstone the actor was photographed with his team of lawyers, including Laura Wasser, outside a Santa Barbara courthouse during a lunch break.
Kevin Costner treats his team of lawyers to lunch in Santa Barbara.
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In his opening statement, John Rydell, Christine’s attorney, said they were reducing Christine’s child support request to $161,592 a month, according to the latest estimate by a forensic accountant. Costner’s legal counsel suggested $60,000 a month.
Christine currently receives $129,000 a month in child support for the couple’s three children — sons Cayden, 16, and Hayes, 14, plus daughter Grace, 13 — after she filed for divorce in May. The couple was married for 18 years.
In court documents obtained by PEOPLE on Aug. 26, the mother of three sought $175,057 a month from Costner, 68.
Christine’s court filings state that “forensics established this [Kevin’s] the average cash flow available for support for the biennium 2021 and 2022 was $19,248,467 per year ($1,604,039 per month).”
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Kevin Costner and Christine Baumgartner in 2015.
Eric Charbonneau/Shutterstock
“Based on this cash flow and a 50/50 parental time share, the presumptively correct child support guideline 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 that in which they were raised, according to the documents.
The documents add that Christine wanted to ensure that her and Costner’s “three minor children would continue to benefit from the lifestyle made possible by Kevin’s substantial earnings and wealth.”
During Thursday’s hearing, Rydell said the lifestyle Christine and Costner’s children are used to is “in their DNA at this point.”
Kevin Costner’s ex claims his ‘massive estate’ grew from $100 million to $400 million during their marriage
“It’s so much more than this – it’s an experience,” Christine told the court as she looked at the evidence photos. “We created quite a community,” she added, repeatedly referring to the Santa Barbara complex she left as “ours.” The home, the court heard, includes a volleyball court, a garden, an infinity pool and two guest houses.
Christine explained how the reduction in financial status would affect their children. She said their children are “very connected to the ocean – it’s their home,” and noted that the surf garage is 50 steps away from their “toes in the water.”
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Christine Costner and Kevin Costner in April 2022.
Lester Cohen/Getty
In July, a source told PEOPLE that Christine had moved out of the family home on the $145 million Santa Barbara estate she shared with Costner, per the terms of their prenuptial agreement. She initially stayed in a smaller house on the property, then moved to a nearby rental house for $40,000 a month, it was confirmed in court on Thursday.
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“Christine is trying to keep everything as normal as possible,” a source told PEOPLE in July.
At the time of their split, the actor’s rep said in a statement: “It is with great sadness that circumstances beyond his control have come to light that have resulted in Mr. Costner having to participate in the divorce.”
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