Brad Pitt Wins Joint Custody of Kids with Angelina Jolie Following Years-Long Court Battle

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Brad Pitt has been granted joint custody of his kids with Angelina Jolie following a nearly five-year court battle.

Judge John Ouderkirk, the private judge hired by the estranged spouses to oversee the case, made his ruling after months of witness testimony, including child services professionals who interviewed the Jolie-Pitt children and others close to the family.

The former couple’s oldest child, Maddox, is 19 and not subject to the custody decision. Pitt, however, will share joint legal and physical custody of 17-year-old Pax, 16-year-old Zahara, 14-year-old Shiloh, and 12-year-old twins, Vivienne and Knox.

Jolie had been seeking sole custody of the children and wanted Pitt to only have supervised visitation, but the judge felt her arguments that he was not a suitable parent “lacked credibility,” according to TMZ.

A source with knowledge of the case told Page Six, “There was a significant change made in the custody agreements based on an extremely detailed decision made by the judge. Brad was just trying to have more time with his kids – and it has been clear that Angie has done everything possible to prevent this.”

Jolie filed for divorce from Pitt in 2016 following an altercation between the actor and his then-15-year-old son Maddox on a private plane. Jolie accused her then-husband of being abusive toward their teenage son on the flight, but investigations by child welfare officials and the FBI cleared him of any charges.

The actress, who attempted to remove Ouderkirk from the divorce case last year, said in a court filing that the judge had refused to let the children testify in the case and declined to hear evidence that she alleged was relevant to the children’s safety.

In response to Jolie’s filing, Pitt’s attorneys said, “Ouderkirk has conducted an extensive proceeding over the past six months in a thorough, fair manner and reached a tentative ruling and order after hearing from experts and percipient witnesses.”