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Kevin Costner's Ex-Wife Ordered to Pay His Legal Bills After Her Attempt to Increase $129,755 Monthly Child Support Backfires

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After requesting a $31,837 increase in monthly child support payments from estranged husband Kevin Costner, Christine Baumgartner instead had her current payments substantially cut last Friday during a courtroom hearing in Santa Barbara, California.

The handbag designer was receiving $129,755 per month from the actor when she asked for a monthly increase to $161,592, according to Fox News.

Instead, Judge Thomas Anderle decreased her six-figure monthly payments to $63,209.

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In addition, during a Wednesday hearing, the judge denied her Aug. 21 request to have Costner pay her almost $9,000 in attorney’s fees.

He responded by ordering her to pay Costner $14,237.50 in attorney’s fees that Costner had requested.

Furthermore, he refused to order Costner to hand over financial documents that Baumgartner had requested.

Indeed, her request could arguably not have gone much worse, with the judge pointedly saying that he “spent a lot of time trying to capture exactly what it is you didn’t have.”

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The current situation is likely very different from what she expected back in June, when she was asking for $248,000 in monthly child support payments, according to court documents obtained by People Magazine.

At the time, she commented that even that larger figure was “less than the amount needed to maintain the children in their accustomed lifestyle.”

That filing listed their family expenses at $6,645,285 per year, not including taxes.

Expenses included $2 million per year just in upkeep on their various homes.

Costner and Baumgartner share three children: Cayden, 16, Hayes, 14, and Grace, 13.

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They have been married for 19 years, since September 2004, per Us Weekly.

The two met on a golf course as Costner was readying himself for a role in the 1996 film “Tin Cup.”

At the time, Costner had been divorced from his wife, Cindy, for two years.

Costner also has another child from a relationship with Bridget Rooney.

Baumgartner filed for divorce in May. However, court documents show that the couple separated one month prior to the filing.

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Aubrey Wursten is a prolific writer and political commentator. In addition to her day job, she enjoys writing for her satire site, reading dusty library books, and watching offbeat documentaries.
Aubrey Wursten is a prolific writer and political commentator. In addition to her day job, she enjoys writing for her satire site, reading dusty library books, and watching offbeat documentaries.




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