DIVORCE WILL UNSPOOL THE COMPLEX LIFE JOLIE AND PITT CREATED
For more than a decade, Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt have been a glamorous, globe-trotting Hollywood power couple, attracting cameras to their film projects and philanthropy alike.
With six children, homes in the U.S. and France, and the philanthropic Jolie-Pitt Foundation, the pair has much at stake. The pair became a couple in 2004 but married two years ago — which could further complicate the divorce that Jolie Pitt filed for Monday (19 SEPT. 2016), and put the future of all they've shared in the hands of teams of lawyers and accountants.
Under California law, only assets acquired during their marriage must be split equally, said Los Angeles divorce attorney Peter Walzer. Forbes magazine estimates the pair earned a combined $555 million since their relationship began, with pre-tax earnings of $117.5 million since their 2014 marriage.
Pitt and Jolie Pitt's relationship grew out their roles in the action comedy "Mr. & Mrs. Smith," and they reunited on the big screen for last year's marital melodrama "By the Sea."
The two don't have any joint upcoming projects. But both have a number of films coming out soon that will surely receive more attention in the wake of their breakup. Pitt stars in the World War II romantic thriller "Allied," which is out in November, and Jolie directed her fourth film, "First They Killed My Father," which is set to be released by Netflix next year.
For now, Jolie Pitt and Pitt's immediate concern, as evidenced by statements each of them issued Tuesday, appears to be their six children, who range in age from 8 to 15. Jolie Pitt is seeking sole physical custody, with Pitt having visitation.
Any custody agreement they reach in Los Angeles would continue to be enforceable overseas, and would spell out where the holidays will be celebrated and how Jolie Pitt and Pitt will make decisions about the children's medical care and education.
In addition to their children, a major part of the actors' identities has been their philanthropy.
What becomes of their Jolie-Pitt Foundation, which the couple founded in 2006, will also be an issue.
The pair did not address what would happen to the foundation in their statements, and a phone message left at a number associated with the Jolie-Pitt Foundation was not returned Tuesday.
A tax document filed in November showed the foundation had about $4.5 million in assets in 2014. Jolie and Pitt contributed $613,000 to the foundation that year, and the foundation paid out a variety of grants, including for wildlife conservation in Namibia, arts programs in Sarajevo, and a variety of projects in Cambodia.
