A court filing by actor Kevin Costner says his estranged wife, Christine Baumgartner, declineis to go out from her home in the Santa Barbara, California, area in the midst of her divorce.
According to court documents obtained by NBC News, Costner says his prenup gave Baumgartner 30 days to vacate the home, which he says was a prenuptial asset he bought in 1988, 16 years before they were married.
baumgartner filed for divorce on May 1 after 18 years of marriage, citing irreconcilable differences. The two share three children: Cayden, 16; Hayes, 14; and Grace, 13.
In documents filed Friday in Santa Barbara County Superior Court, Costner and his legal team contend that Baumgartner signed a prenuptial agreement agreeing to terms that included Costner keeping the Carpinteria home in question.
“Christine has not moved, despite multiple requests for her to do so and offers from Kevin to help her financially move into a new residence,” Costner’s legal team wrote in the documents. «Instead, Christine has taken the position that she will not move out of Kevin’s separately owned residence unless and until Kevin agrees to various financial demands.»
Costner said in a statement included in the filing that when he and Baumgartner began talking about getting married in 2003, he told her it was important to him «to have a home to go to.»
“I was married once before and upon separation found myself without a base of operations and unable to live in my own home,” he said in the documents. «I never wanted this to happen again.»
He said: «Therefore, when Christine (Baumgartner) and I began discussing marriage in 2003, I made it clear to her that I would not marry again without making it clear that my separately owned residences would remain mine to live in no matter what. to happen in our Christine acknowledged to me at the time that she understood the importance of this to me and agreed to this provision.»
The filing also says the prenup stipulated that he would pay Baumgartner $100,000 at the time of their marriage and another $100,000 on their first anniversary, which he did. He was also asked to pay Baumgartner $1 million after she filed for divorce, the documents say.
The prenup also requires that she give Baumgartner a $200,000 deposit to help her buy a new home and pay property taxes and homeowners insurance for one year. Costner says she also offered to pay thousands of dollars for moving costs, use her «existing staff» to help her move, and add $38,000 a month on top of her $30,000-a-month child support prenup, according to the filing. .
Costner’s court filing says Baumgartner told him he plans to «at least» challenge the spousal support exemption in the prenuptial agreement.
Baumgartner’s team did not respond to a request for comment; Neither did Costner.
