Angelina Jolie and [Brad Pitt ] last night announced that they would be filing for divorce. In the hours since, the internet has been awash with talk of the split.
The couple, who have been together for 12 years, have three adopted children and three biological children bringing a grand total of six (!)
Amid claims of cheating and drug abuse, Maddox Chivan, 14, Pax Thien, 11, Zahara Marley, 10, Shiloh Nouvel, nine, Knox Leon, seven and Vivienne Marcheline, seven, have gotten caught up in their parents divorce.
According to court documents first obtained by TMZ, Angelina filed legal documents on Monday (Sept 19), requesting joint legal custody of their six children. The legal grounds for divorce are listed as “irreconcilable differences.”
Angelina and Brad have both made statements to the press, stating that the kids are their main priority.
Brad Pitt - “I am very saddened by this, but what matters most now is the well being of our kids. I kindly ask the press to give them the space they deserve during this challenging time.”
Angelina Jolie - “This decision was made for the health of the family. She will not be commenting at this time, and asks that the family be given their privacy during this difficult time.”
But with Ange going for full custody of all six children, granting Brad visitation rights, could things start to get messy?
We asked Kim Aucott, a family lawyer at Slater Heelis LLP about Angelina and Brad's now complex case:
She said: “This case could take years to settle. If there is no pre-nup then the couples’ lawyers will have to start from scratch and divide up their vast assets. While money is clearly not a problem for either of them, there are a number of shared properties and film projects which could be more complicated to split.
“The custody of their six children is also a major issue that could prove difficult to resolve. There are rumours about some of Brad’s lifestyle choices in recent months. If they’re true and if they impact on his ability to be a good, hands-on parent, this could complicate the custody battle and lead to Angelina taking the primary role in looking after the children.
“Legally, their adopted children will be treated exactly the same as their biological children. However, as the divorce process can be extremely distressing for all children involved, it is important they focus on sorting arrangements for parenting the children first and then deal with financial issues afterwards.”
**What's the difference between legal and physical custody? **
Legal custody means that one parent has both legal and physical custody of the children. The other parent may have visitation rights, but does not have any custodial rights and can't make any decisions affecting the children without the legal parent's permission.
Children live with the parent who has physical custody but can share legal custody of the children, that means both parents have a say in decisions that impact the child. In the event of a major dispute between parents who share joint legal custody, the courts can settle the dispute.
Parents can share joint physical custody, so the children split time between living with both parents.
TMZ have reported that Angelina's decision to file for divorce ‘has to do with the way Brad was parenting the children. She was extremely upset with his methods.’
Sources close to Brad have said that he is 'furious' at Angelina's claims that he is a 'bad dad' and the fact that she's spinning stories that he poses a risk to their kids because of anger issues fueled by weed and alcohol.
He's worried the claims could have a negative effect on their children and that the barrage of paparazzi could be detrimental - especially as the couple have fought long and hard over the years to keep their children's lives as private as possible.
TMZ report that Brad apparently thinks Angelina has “just unleashed hell.”
Meanwhile, Angelina hopes to keep this as private as possible. Hiring top divorce lawyer Laura Wasser, who most recently represented Johnny Depp during his divorce from Amber Heard. She's not asking for spousal support, only claiming jewellery and other personal items as well as earnings from and after the date of separation.
**Let's hope Brad and Angelina's joint efforts will make this divorce as easy as possible for their six children. **
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