Kevin Costner Ordered to Pay Estranged Wife Christine $63K per Month in Child Support After She Asked for $162K
In July, Costner had been tentatively ordered to make monthly payments of $129,755 to the mother of his three kids
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Kevin Costner got what he asked for.
On Friday, the Yellowstone actor, 68, was ordered to pay his estranged wife Christine $63,209 per month in child support, granting Kevin his proposed amount after a two-day court hearing in Santa Barbara.
In July, Kevin had been tentatively ordered to make monthly payments of $129,755 to the mother of his three kids — Cayden, 16, Hayes, 14, and Grace, 13. Earlier this week, Christine, 49, filed a request to increase that amount to $175,057 — a $46,000-plus increase. She reduced that figure to $161,592 during a court hearing on Thursday, following a forensic accountant’s latest assessment.
“My biggest concern is that the court orders me to pay child support that is above the needs of my children and for the needs of Christine,” Kevin said in court on Friday when he took the stand.
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On Thursday, Christine's attorney John Rydell said that the lifestyle Christine and Kevin's three children have grown accustomed to is “in their DNA at this point.”
On the stand, Christine explained how a decrease in financial status would affect their kids. She said in part their children are “very connected to the ocean — it’s their home,” and noted the surf garage is 50 steps from “toes in the water."
“It’s so much more than this — it’s an experience," Christine told the court as she looked at evidentiary photos. "We’ve created quite a community," she added, repeatedly referring to the Santa Barbara compound she vacated as “ours." The home, as stated in court, includes a volleyball court, a garden, an infinity pool and two guest houses.
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In July, a source told PEOPLE that Christine moved out of the family’s house on the $145 million Santa Barbara compound that she shared with Kevin, as per the terms of their prenup. She initially stayed at a smaller house on the property, then moved to a nearby rental home for $40,000 per month, as confirmed in court Thursday.
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"Christine is trying to keep everything as normal as possible,” the source told PEOPLE in July.
Christine filed for divorce from the Oscar winner in May. The couple was married for 18 years.
At the time of their split, a rep for the actor said in a statement, "It is with great sadness that circumstances beyond his control have transpired which have resulted in Mr. Costner having to participate in a dissolution of marriage action."
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