In a report initially broken by TMZ, Angelina Jolie is claiming that her ex-husband, Brad Pitt, has not been providing her the child support that they agreed upon “informally.”
Following the initial report, Pitt and Jolie’s respective sides have begun to dug their heels into the ground, with Jolie’s legal camp maintaining that her claim is “both legally appropriate and factually accurate in all respects,” and with Pitt’s side claiming that Jolie’s filing is “unnecessary, omits material information and is a thinly-veiled effort to manipulate media coverage,” per NBC.
On August 7, Pitt sources claimed per TMZ that Pitt has given over $9 million in the last two years, allegedly $8 million for a house Jolie bought and $1.3 million in child support.
However, on August 8 Jolie’s camp revealed in a legal filing via NBC that Pitt “loaned Angelina money [to buy a house], for which he is charging her interest on a payment plan.”
“Angelina will of course honor that loan,” Jolie’s lawyer, DeJean, said. “A loan is not; however, child support and to represent it as such is misleading and inaccurate.”
Jolie maintains that Pitt owes her 50% of all child-accrued expenses. Pitt maintains that he has and will continue to pay an appropriate amount of child support for their shared children.
Here’s what you need to know.
1. Pitt Has Not Paid ‘Meaningful Child Support’ Since Their Separation, Per TMZ
Angelina Jolie accuses Brad Pitt of not paying child support in new court filing t.co/nMxBCAyGaB
According to the latest report by TMZ, Pitt has not paid ‘meaningful child support’ since he and Jolie officially separated, though it is not clarified what exactly he was expected to do for child support.
The arrangement for child support was allegedly informal, per the TMZ report, but Jolie claims that Pitt has not even lived up to those informal expectations.
Via NBC, Jolie’s attorney, Samantha Bley DeJean, said, “[Pitt] has a duty to pay child support. As of present, [Pitt] has paid no meaningful child support since separation.”
Pitt has not responded to these allegations as of yet.
2. Pitt Recently Won a Custody Battle With Jolie in April This Year
Angelina Jolie ‘can’t see past her anger’ towards Brad Pitt as exes are ‘not even close’ to settling divorce t.co/dciK6olXNY
In June, 2018, a judge ordered Jolie to let her six children see Pitt, or risk losing her children altogether. Previously, Pitt had had no contact with his children.
In court documents obtained by The Blast, the judge explained that “not having a relationship with their father is harmful to [the children],” and added that “it is critical that each of them have a healthy and strong relationship with their father and mother.”
The judge also ordered that Jolie arrange a phone call “with her kids and their doctors” to confirm to them directly that they are safe with Pitt. As part of the agreement, Jolie was required to provide Pitt with each of the children’s cell phone numbers so that he could call them directly.
The judge warned Jolie directly, “If the minor children remain closed down to their father and depending on the circumstances surrounding this condition, it may result in a reduction of the time they spend with [Jolie] and may result in the Court ordering primary physical custody to [Pitt].”
3. Pitt Has Allegedly Been Working on a Summer Schedule to See His Children
The drama in Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie’s custody case is intensifying t.co/iwiCeAjadJ
According to the ruling set down by the judge in June, Pitt has been given a summer schedule to see his kids, minus the oldest child, Maddox, who has been deemed old enough to decide how much time he wants to spend with his adoptive father.
However, it’s unclear whether Pitt’s designated time with the children will be affected by the latest filing by Jolie’s attorneys, amidst their allegations that Pitt has not lived up to his ‘informal agreements’ for child support.
4. Pitt’s Net Worth Is Currently Estimated at $240 Million
Pitt’s net worth as of 2018 has been estimated at around $240 million. Jolie’s net worth is slightly smaller, estimated at $160 million. In the child custody hearing in June, the judge did not directly address Pitt’s worth in relation to the child support he is allegedly supposed to pay ‘informally.’
However, given the history of child support payments between celebrities, it’s likely that Pitt would have to pay a substantial amount each year. Blake Griffin is the most recent of the child support payouts, having to pay approximately $32,000 a month for his two children, per a report by TMZ.
5. Pitt & Jolie Have Six Children Together: Three Adopted, and Three By Birth
In 2006, Pitt adopted Jolie’s children, Maddox and Zahara, both of whom were adopted by Jolie prior to their marriage. Pitt adopted Jolie’s other adoptive son, Pax, two years earlier, due to local adoption laws that allowed it to be an easier process.
Pitt and Jolie also have three children together, biologically: their daughter Shiloh was born in 2006, and their twins Knox and Vivienne were born in 2008.
When asked how Jolie was coping (as seen in the video above), she said, “My focus is my children, our children, and my focus is finding this way through. And as I said, we are and forever will be a family. And so that is how I am coping…to find a way through that somehow makes us stronger.”