The court-ordered custody arrangement between Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie ended on July 12, when their twins, Knox and Vivienne, turned 18, information from published reports. The date marked the end of the reported custody restriction concerning their youngest children, a legal chapter that followed the couple’s 2016 separation. Reaching adulthood ends custody jurisdiction over the twins, but does not resolve separate financial or contractual disputes between their parents.
Jolie filed for divorce in September 2016, seeking custody of the couple’s six children: Maddox, Pax, Zahara, Shiloh, Knox and Vivienne. Maddox, Pax and Zahara were adopted; Shiloh, Knox and Vivienne are the couple’s biological children. The divorce was finalized in December 2024. The parents reportedly reached an arrangement concerning the children in 2018, but the custody proceedings were later disrupted after a California appeals court disqualified private judge John Ouderkirk over undisclosed financial relationships involving Pitt’s attorneys. The ruling meant the custody case had to start over.
Closer reported that unnamed sources described Pitt as feeling strong emotions ahead of the twins’ 18th birthday and worrying about further distance from his children. Reports have also said that some of the older children stopped using the Pitt surname; Zahara’s reported name change was approved by a Los Angeles judge. These accounts concern private family relationships, which Pitt, Jolie and their children have not discussed publicly in detail.
Jolie has previously been reported to be considering a move from Los Angeles, where the younger children’s circumstances and custody arrangements had constrained her plans. With Knox and Vivienne now adults, that reported custody-related restriction has ended. The change does not determine the family’s future living arrangements or personal relationships.
The Château Miraval dispute is a separate legal matter involving the French winery and estate Pitt and Jolie acquired during their relationship. Jolie sold her 50% stake in 2021 for a reported $67 million to Tenute del Mondo, a company associated with Yuri Shefler. Pitt challenged the sale, arguing that an earlier agreement required mutual consent. The litigation began in 2022 and is distinct from the custody case, so the twins’ adulthood does not resolve it.
The custody dispute and winery litigation played out during the couple’s lengthy divorce proceedings, amid public attention to their family. The custody case was further complicated by Ouderkirk’s disqualification; he had also officiated Pitt and Jolie’s wedding at Château Miraval. The end of the reported custody arrangement closes a impressive chapter concerning the twins, while the separate winery dispute and the family’s next phase remain ongoing.
