Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie’s divorce was ugly enough for the fans to witness, but the custody battle for their five kids is getting even more brutal than that with each passing day. After winning joint custody of the children, Jolie’s legal team raised issues with the Court’s decision and got full custody of the kids. Pitt was not satisfied with the decision and has now filed a new petition with the California Supreme Court to review the case.
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Pitt was tentatively granted joint custody of their five minor children. The order, which came from Judge John Ouderkirk, the judge who officiated Pitt and Jolie’s wedding seven years ago, was revoked by the actress’ legal team. Her team said that the judge displayed “bias.” A California appeals court in July then approved her request to disqualify the judge. Ouderkirk failed to “disclose multiple professional, business and financial relationships, ongoing during the course of the matter, with Pitt’s counsel and their law firms,” stated Jolie’s legal team.
The decision led to Jolie retaining full-time custody of their kids, while Pitt maintained only visitation rights. Pitt, hence, decided to file the petition which reads,”The Court of Appeal effectively upended the constitutionally authorized temporary judging system in California and generated widespread confusion, uncertainty, and instability for judges, litigants, and the California judicial system as a whole.”
“After more than four years of contentious litigation, every day of which has harmed the children and their father, an important and considered custody decision will be entirely undone as a result of an administrative error that is wholly unrelated to the merits of the custody dispute itself,” it read further, making several revelations about the case.
Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie got hitched in 2014, after being together for over ten years. The actress filed for divorce in 2016 citing unresolvable differences. The divorce has grown uglier since then with the couple reportedly spending a million each on it so far. The private judge hired by the couple charges an estimated $900 to £1,000 an hour. Considering that the youngest kids, Knox and Vivienne, are still 12, the custody battle could go on for a while until they turn 18, resulting in a lot of expenditure on both sides.
