Kevin Costner’s estranged wife, Christine Baumgartner, has already received over $400,000 to cover her legal costs, according to recent reports from DailyMail.com.

Baumgartner, 49, is currently in a legal dispute with Costner over a new request for $855,000 to cover expenses for their upcoming trial, which will determine if their 18-year-old prenuptial agreement is still enforceable. She has requested $575,000 for her attorneys, John Rydell and Susan Wiesner, and an additional $280,000 for her forensic accountant, Jill Bombino, bringing the total to a staggering $1.26 million.

Documents obtained by DailyMail.com reveal that Baumgartner has already been granted $405,000 in legal and forensic accounting fees as of July this year. In response, Costner’s attorney, Laura Wasser, has challenged this new request in a court filing, calling the fees “inflated” and arguing that it would be “unconscionable” for Costner to pay such amounts.

Wasser criticized Baumgartner’s constant legal maneuvers, which she claims have unnecessarily driven up costs for both parties. She pointed out that Baumgartner has already received $405,000 in fees, including $300,000 in legal fees and $105,000 from Costner’s accounts, and is now seeking an additional $885,000 to prepare for the trial.

The ongoing dispute follows a recent reduction in Baumgartner’s child support payments from $129,000 to $63,000 per month. Baumgartner had previously requested $161,000 per month and rejected an offer from Costner of $75,000 per month on June 30, seeking a larger settlement.

Baumgartner’s latest fee request is intended to cover the costs for a hearing on their prenuptial agreement scheduled to start on November 27 and last for six days. She is seeking to overturn the prenup to obtain alimony, although she is currently entitled to a $1.5 million lump sum and a year’s worth of mortgage payments on a new home valued up to $1 million.

Wasser argues that the estimates from Baumgartner’s legal team are excessive and duplicate work already done for the child support hearing. She also claims that Baumgartner has not made a meaningful effort to resolve disputes outside of court and has engaged in unnecessary litigation.

In a recent setback, Baumgartner was ordered to pay $14,000 in sanctions for not providing proper answers to Costner’s legal team. This followed a reduction in her child support payments, which she described as a “joke.”

Brett Ward, a partner at Blank Rome and family law expert, noted that while requests for legal fees are common, judges generally scrutinize the reasonableness of such requests and aim to prevent prolonged litigation by not awarding excessive fees.