Why Did Brad Pitt & Angelina Jolie’s Custody Agreement End?

After years of legal battles, Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie‘s custody agreement has finally concluded. Their youngest children, twins Knox and Vivienne, turned 18 on July 12, 2026, officially ending the former couple’s lengthy custody disputes.

Pitt and Jolie, who ended their relationship in 2016 after two years of marriage and more than a decade together, have six kids: Maddox, 24; Pax, 22; Zahara, 21; Shiloh, 20; and twins Knox and Vivienne, 18. Their breakup reportedly stems from a 2016 plane incident, which Jolie’s lawyers allege involved a violent altercation between the pair. Afterward, they became embroiled in a years-long custody battle.

Despite Pitt being granted joint custody in 2021, five of the children—Maddox, Zahara, Shiloh, Knox, and Vivienne—have reportedly chosen to drop his last name. Two of them have recently taken formal legal steps to remove “Pitt” from their names.

Related: Brad Pitt Reportedly ‘Crushed’ as Family Hopes Fade Amid 5 of His Kids Dropping His Last Name—‘Soul Destroying’

Court documents obtained by TMZ show that Zahara recently satisfied a California requirement for a legal name change by publishing notice of her request in the Los Angeles Daily Journal for four consecutive weeks (June 16, June 23, June 30, and July 7), allowing time for any objections before the final hearing. Her court date is set for September 28, when a judge will decide on the request if there are no objections. Maddox followed the same process, running his petition on June 10, June 17, June 24, and July 1.

Shiloh was the first to officially remove “Pitt” from her last name, filing the paperwork on her 18th birthday: May 27, 2024. Vivienne followed suit by dropping “Pitt” in the Playbill for the Broadway musical The Outsiders, which she helped produce with Jolie. In June 2026, Knox also omitted “Pitt” from his high school diploma.

According to Us Weekly, Pitt has expressed wanting a better relationship with his kids. “He feels most hurt out of everything that happened with Angie that his children don’t want a public association with his last name,” an insider revealed in late May 2026. “It’s been very difficult.”

Despite the estrangement, the source said that Pitt “still does hope and keeps the door open to eventual reconciliation, hopefully with all of them, but it is their decision. He has no power and he can’t force them.”