Brad Pitt granted joint custody of his children with Angelina Jolie, according to reports

Brad Pitt has reportedly been granted joint custody of his children with Angelina Jolie following a long court battle between the couple.

Brad Pitt has been granted joint custody of his children with Angelina Jolie following a long court battle between the divorced couple.

Pitt has been fighting Jolie for nearly five years for equal rights to their six children.

A source close to the issue told Page Six it was a “tentative decision”, adding that Jolie is continuing her legal fight.

Judge John Ouderkirk, the private judge hired by the two actors to oversee the case, made his thoughts clear in a lengthy recent ruling, it’s understood, after months of witness testimony, including from child services professionals who interviewed the Jolie-Pitt children and others who’d been around the family.

“There was a significant change made in the custody agreement based on an extremely detailed decision made by the judge,” another source with knowledge of the case told Page Six.

“Brad was just trying to have more time with his kids – and it has been clear that Angie has done everything possible to prevent this.

“This trial lasted for several months and there were a f***ton of witnesses, experts, therapists and other people who have been with the kids and around them, and the decision was based on this.”

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Pitt and Jolie in 2009. Picture: Kevork Djansezian/Getty Images

In regard to Jolie’s ongoing fight, a source said: “Joint custody is not the issue that Angelina objects to. There were other issues of concern, but the court proceedings are closed and sealed.”

Last year, Jolie made a legal bid to disqualify Judge Ouderkirk from the case. In a filing on Monday, she said he had refused to let the couple’s children testify.

According to The Associated Press, her filing said the judge had “refused to hear the minor teenagers’ input as to their experiences, needs, or wishes as to their custody fate”, citing a California law that says a child 14 or over should be allowed to testify if they want to.

Three of the children are teenagers: 17-year-old Pax, 16-year-old Zahara and 14-year-old Shiloh. The oldest, Maddox, is now 19 and not subject to the custody decision.

They also have 12-year-old twins, Vivienne and Knox.

Jolie also claimed Ouderkirk had declined to hear evidence that she alleged was relevant to the children’s safety and wellbeing before he issued the ruling.

Page Six says it has seen one court filing label, which reads: “Offer of proof and authority in support thereof RE: testimony regarding domestic violence.”

The documents are sealed.

“There was a safety order surrounding the previous custody arrangements, that is public, and the kids schedule has been set under the jurisdiction of the division of family services for over three years,” said the source close to the issue.

The filing, in California’s Second District Court of Appeal, says: “Judge Ouderkirk denied Ms Jolie a fair trial, improperly excluding her evidence relevant to the children’s health, safety and welfare, evidence critical to making her case.”

Jolie said the judge “has failed to adequately consider” a section of the California courts code that says it is detrimental to the best interest of the child if custody is awarded to a person with a history of domestic violence.

The couple in 2013. Picture: Mark Cuthbert/UK Press via Getty Images

Her filing did not give details about what it was referring to, but her lawyers submitted a document under seal in March that allegedly offered additional information.

In trying to disqualify Judge Ouderkirk – who married Jolie and Pitt in 2014 – Jolie’s lawyers went to the appellate court, which has yet to rule on her bid.

If that bid comes to fruition, his ruling may be tossed out.

Jolie sought a divorce in 2016, days after a fight allegedly broke out on a private jet. Pitt was accused by sources close to her of being abusive towards Maddox during the flight from France to the United States.

No charges were ever brought against him.

Jolie’s lawyers said at the time that she sought a divorce “for the health of the family”.

Pitt’s own filing said the judge found Jolie’s testimony “lacked credibility in many important areas, and the existing custody order between the parties must be modified, per Mr Pitt’s request, in the best interests of the children”.

It said Jolie’s objections and further delays in reaching an arrangement would “work grave harm upon the children, who will be further denied permanence and stability”.

This story first appeared on The New York Post and has been republished with permission.