Kevin Costner’s estranged wife Christine was all smiles as she was spotted leaving Santa Barbara Country Superior Court on Wednesday afternoon following a legal ruling in her favor.
The judge presiding over Costner and Christine’s divorce had extended the actor’s temporary monthly payments of $129,755 in child support earlier that day.
Dressed primarily in black from her sweater down to her heels, Christine, 49, was photographed looking jovial as she got into the driver’s seat of a Land Rover following the ruling.
During Wednesday’s court session, the judge also denied the Yellowstone star’s lawyers’ request to settle the matter of child support before the trial date to determine the validity of challenging the couple’s prenuptial agreement on Nov. 27.
Attorneys for Costner, 68, also requested they have 10 days to review final forensic accountant files before the trial start dates for both the child-support and prenuptial agreements, since there are nearly 9,000 pages of forensic accounting documents so far.
The judge said an “evidentiary hearing is unlikely in the foreseeable future” on the matter of child support, and that the tentative ruling stands in the meantime.
However, the ruling is retroactive, meaning that child support will have to be paid forward dating back to July 1 if changes are made in the final ruling of the case.
Christine — who shares sons Cayden, 16, and Hayes, 14, plus daughter Grace, 13, with Costner — previously requested $248,000 per month for child support, an amount the actor’s side slammed as “inflated.”
The former handbag designer said that until she had a child-support agreement in place to set up a “suitable separate household,” she was staying put in the actor’s Santa Barbara residence despite the Costners’ premarital agreement stipulating that she move out within 30 days of filing for divorce.
Superior Court of Santa Barbara County judge Thomas Anderle has since ruled at a July 5 hearing that Christine must vacate their sprawling compound, worth an estimated $145 million, by July 31.
Costner and Christine’s legal teams will be back in court on Aug. 2 to discuss the estranged couple’s prenuptial agreement.
According to legal documents filed by the actor’s lawyers, his ex might be required to forfeit her $1.5 million divorce settlement for challenging the prenup.
“If Christine, in any manner, challenges or assists in the challenge of the validity or enforceability of any provision of this Agreement, she shall lose any and all rights to receive any payment, Property or Interest from Kevin pursuant to this Agreement,” according to the agreement, which attorneys for the Oscar winner quoted in legal documents filed June 28.