Another one of Brad Pitt’s kids is seeking to drop his surname, and they’ve already taken a few steps to make that happen. It was recently reported that Pitt and Angelina Jolie’s 24-year-old son, Maddox Chivan Jolie-Pitt, filed to change his last name to “Jolie.” Maddox’s plans took a major step forward when he landed a court date of September 14, at which point he’ll argue for the change. In the meantime, there’s the question of whether Brad can intervene in any way, and a legal expert is now shedding light on that.
What should be mentioned up front is that Brad Pitt (62) didn’t get involved when his daughter, Shiloh (20) filed to drop his name and only use “Jolie” in 2024. In the midst of Maddox’s attempt to file for a name change, Rachael Bennett of Sullivan Law & Associates, spoke with Us Weekly about the proceedings. According to Bennett, a senior attorney and family law specialist, it would be difficult for Brad to try to block the change even if he wanted to. Bennett laid out the reasoning as follows:
For an adult child a parent does not have any legal grounds to block the name change just because they don’t like it. Once somebody is 18, they can file their own name change petition, and the parent doesn’t get any veto power, and really, the court’s not going to care about the impact the name change has on the parents, even if a parent may have an emotional reaction to it, they don’t have any legal input once their child’s an adult.
So, based on those comments, it sounds like it would theoretically be easier for the Adventures of Cliff Booth star to have an impact on the proceedings if his son were a minor. At this point, only two of the kids Pitt shares with Angelina Jolie (51) – twins Vivienne and Knox (17) – still fall within that category. When it comes to Maddox, Bennett says he shouldn’t have a hard time having his request granted. The lawyer laid out why the process is “pretty straightforward”:
For an adult changing your last name, it’s actually pretty straightforward, but it does require a formal court order to change your name. The process is pretty simple. The court’s going to set a hearing date and in many cases, the person may have to publish a public notice of the proposed name change in a local newspaper. The judge is going to decide, yes, there’s an improper purpose, or no, there’s no improper purpose, and then if everything’s green lit, the judge just signs off on the petition, and the name change is granted.
Maddox and Shiloh aren’t Brad Pitt’s only kids who’ve filed to change their surnames, as their sister, Zahara Marley (21), recently filed as well. Over the last few years, it’s been reported that Pitt’s been estranged from his kids, and there’s seemingly been evidence of that. In 2023, many took notice when Pitt didn’t attend Zahara’s sorority induction ceremony at Spelman College and, more recently, he didn’t attend her graduation. A source from Pitt’s camp, though, claimed the actor was upset about the negative buzz over his absence, since it was allegedly made clear to him that he was not welcome.
Another one of the F1 star’s six kids who hasn’t filed to change their name, as of this writing, is Pax Jolie-Pitt (22). It was recently reported that Pax was also maintaining ties to the Pitt family and recently celebrated his cousin’s engagement with them. However, within that same report, an insider also alleges that Pax “doesn’t have much of a relationship with Brad.”
When it comes to the parents, Jolie and Pitt’s relationship was reportedly contentious amid their divorce proceedings, during which Jolie accused her ex of physically and verbally abusing her and their kids during a flight in 2016. Pitt has since denied those claims. As it stands, the former couple are now still engaged in a legal dispute over a winery they both held financial stakes in.
Brad Pitt’s relationship with his kids has allegedly been unstable amid the legal drama, which has reportedly even made Father’s Day a “tough” time for him. With several of his kids either having changed or trying to change their names, it’s alleged that Pitt’s “biggest fear” is that he’ll eventually be cut off from their lives completely. With that, it’s been alleged that Pitt is “desperate” to reconnect with his kids. Still, in the meantime – barring any changes – it seems Maddox remains set on dropping his father’s name.