Last week, a California judge ordered the wife of actor Kevin Costner to move out of their Santa Barbara home by the end of July, Fox News reported.
The Oscar-winning actor/director purchased the Carpinteria, California estate before marrying Christine Baumgartner. The prenuptial agreement between the couple stipulated that if the couple divorced, Baumgartner agreed to vacate the property within 30 days and not reside in any of Costner’s other properties.
Baumgartner filed for divorce on May 1 after the couple separated on April 11, citing “irreconcilable differences.”
In court filings, Costner’s attorneys had argued that it was “an important priority” for Costner to secure “his right to access” the separate properties on the estate overlooking the Pacific. His attorneys noted that in his previous divorce, Costner was “unable to live in his own home” and did not want the same thing happening again.
Baumgartner’s lawyers requested that she have until August 15 to vacate the residence, arguing that the current housing market in Santa Barbara made it difficult for her to find a new place to live. They also stipulated that the $68,000 a month child support Costner offered was far below the $250,000 a month Baumgartner had requested for their three children.
However, Judge Thomas Anderle denied the request, ordering Baumgartner to move out of the property by July 31.
Celebrity divorce lawyer Christopher Melcher told Fox News that while it may be difficult for Baumgartner to vacate the residence where she raised their children, “a deal’s a deal.”
Melcher said Baumgartner made a prenuptial agreement with Costner saying that she would move out within thirty days and the judge is simply “enforcing that promise.”
Costner and Baumgartner have both filed for joint custody of their three children, ages 12, 14, and 15.
A hearing for the custody case is scheduled for Wednesday.
