Brad Pitt has been awarded joint custody of 5 of his children after months of jousting in court with ex-wife Angeline Jolie.
On Wednesday, May 26, Judge John Ouderkirk ruled that the exes will split time with five of their children- Pax, 17, Zahara, 16, Shiloh, 14, and twins Knox and Vivienne, 12. Their oldest child, Maddox is 19 and therefore exempt from the custody battle.
Brad Pitt Wins Court Battle to Receive Joint Custody of 5 of His Children
It looks as though Maddox is firmly on team Angelina and does not want to spend a lot of time with his dad after a tense situation on a private jet between the two.
The custody battle, going on since the famous duo split in September 2016 was not a pleasant one with Angelina recently criticizing Judge Ouderkirk for refusing to hear evidence from the children in regards to Pitt’s alleged history of domestic violence. California code says a child 14 or over should be allowed to testify if they want to. All of the applicable Jolie-Pitt children were denied that right.
Documents that were filed only days before the final custody decision argued, “Judge Ouderkirk denied Ms. Jolie a fair trial, improperly excluding her evidence relevant to the children’s health, safety, and welfare, evidence critical to making her case.”
Jolie had previously asked for Ouderkirk to be removed as presiding judge on the case as he had failed to disclose “ongoing business and professional relationships” with Pitt and his legal team.
Jolie sought the divorce in 2016 after the abovementioned disagreement broke out when the actors and their children were flying from France to Los Angeles.
Pitt was accused of being abusive toward then-15-year-old Maddox however investigations by child welfare officials and the FBI resulted in no charges being filed against the 57 year old Oscar winning actor. Jolie’s reason for seeking a divorce was “for the health of the family”.
The papers filed on Monday said that if the tentative custody decision is made final by Ouderkirk, she will appeal it. Jolie was seeking full custody while Pitt wanted joint.
It looks like the ugliness is not all over yet.
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