Angelina Jolie claims Brad Pitt hasn’t paid enough child support
Angelina Jolie and her children Pax, Maddox, Zahara and Shiloh in Cambodia in February 2017. Photo: Getty
In the latest twist in their messy divorce and custody battle, Angelina Jolie has accused her estranged husband Brad Pitt of not paying enough child support for their six children.
According to a brief filed in Los Angeles Superior Court on Tuesday (local time), Jolie’s lawyer Samantha Bley DeJean claimed Pitt “has paid no meaningful child support since separation.”
Added the brief, obtained by NBC News, “[Pitt] has a duty to pay child support.”
Because the “informal arrangements” around the payment of the children’s expenses “have not been regularly sustained” by Pitt for more than 18 months, Jolie plans to file a court order to make him pay up retroactively, said the brief.
The court documents didn’t define what “meaningful” support would look like, reported NBC News.
While the actor has not responded yet to the claims, E! News claimed a source close to Pitt said, “Brad has fulfilled his commitments.”
Celebrity Net Worth puts Jolie’s personal fortune at $216 million and Pitt’s at $325 million.
The issue isn’t just about money, according to Jolie’s camp.
“The aim of Angelina’s routine court filing is to provide closure to the marriage in a way that clears a path toward the next stage of their lives,” a spokesperson told People.
It “allows her and Brad to recommit as devoted co-parents to their children.”
TMZ reported the court documents say Jolie is pressing for the divorce to be finalised as soon as possible but E!News said the exes are “not even close” to being legally done and dusted.
Jolie, 43, suddenly left Pitt, 54, in September 2016 after an incident on the family’s private jet.
Jolie and Brad Pitt at a Tokyo airport in 2013 with Pax, Knox and Vivienne. Photo: Getty
The Fury star was investigated and cleared by agencies including the FBI of allegations of a physical altercation involving the couple’s eldest son Maddox, now 16.
Since then, custody of their children – Maddox, Pax, 14, Zahara, 13, Shiloh, 12, and twins Vivienne and Knox, 10 – has been a thorny issue.
When the exes couldn’t come to a private agreement, in June a Los Angeles court judge set up a detailed schedule for Pitt to spend more time with the five youngest kids.
Maddox is exempt because he is old enough to decide how often he wants to see his dad.
Before that, Pitt had only limited supervised access visits.
According to documents obtained by various media outlets, the judge found that “not having a relationship with their father” would be “harmful” to the children.
The judge warned Jolie that she was in danger of losing full custody if she didn’t stick to the new arrangements.
The children are now living with their mother in a rented mansion in London while she films Maleficent 2.
Pitt has been spending his court-ordered time with them in the UK and in Los Angeles, where he is shooting Once Upon A Time in Hollywood.
Jolie has “tried to bridge the gap between the kids and their dad,” the source told People.
“She’s worked to achieve reinstatement for them. But it’s now between Brad, his kids, and the court. The court will determine things.”
The pair’s case is due to return to court on August 13.