Dennis Quaid's $13,750 Monthly Child Support Battle Heats Up

Sometimes timing says everything. Just five days before what would have been their 22-year wedding anniversary, Dennis Quaid’s ex-wife Kimberly Buffington was formally served papers in a legal fight over the actor’s nearly $14,000 monthly child support payments. The paperwork landed at her $3.8 million Los Angeles home on June 29, and with it came everything Quaid has filed in his push to terminate those obligations.

Here’s the crux of the matter: Quaid, 72, is arguing that his financial responsibility should end now that their twins Thomas and Zoe have graduated high school. Zoe finished on May 23, and Thomas on June 3. Their 2018 divorce agreement explicitly stated that payments would stop“when a child completes 12th grade,”so from Quaid’s perspective, the math is simple. He’s also requesting that any bonus amount he owes based on exceeding $1.3 million in annual income be prorated to the date of their kids’graduations rather than covering the full year.

The pair’s relationship has been anything but straightforward. They tied the knot on July 4, 2004, and welcomed Thomas and Zoe three years later. But between 2012 and 2016, they separated, reconciled, filed for legal separation, reconciled again, and finally parted ways for good when Buffington filed for divorce in 2016. Their split was finalized in 2018. That’s a lot of back-and-forth for a marriage that’s now in the rearview mirror.

What complicates the narrative further is Quaid’s track record. Back in 2020, he actually filed documents willing to pay more in child support if his income warranted it, as long as payments were“based on the reasonable needs of Thomas and Zoe.”That gesture suggests some flexibility on his part—or at least, it did then. Now, with his kids officially out of high school, his legal team is making the case that the obligation has run its course.

The hearing is set for July 28, so this isn’t over yet. Buffington will have her chance to counter Quaid’s argument, and the court will decide whether the actor’s interpretation of their agreement holds water. What happens next could signal whether those monthly payments continue beyond graduation or if this chapter truly closes.

Quaid has since moved on to his fourth marriage. He wed Laura Savoie in June 2020, and the couple has spoken openly about how faith anchors their relationship. Before Buffington, he was married to P.J. Soles from 1978 to 1983 and to Meg Ryan from 1991 to 2001. That’s a lot of history—and a lot of lessons learned, apparently.