Brad Pitt And Angelina Jolie’s Divorce Could Get Costly

Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie are worth hundreds of millions of dollars, but will their net worths soon decrease due to their ongoing divorce and custody battle?

Following Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie’s announcement to press, which suggested they would be putting up a “united front” as their legal proceedings continue, a divorce lawyer has spoken out about how the remainder of their split will play out — and how much it could cost.

“The stipulation that [Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt] signed for retired Judge John Ouderkirk says that they will work with him for a year until Dec. 31, 2017 and that seems about right,” lawyer and divorce expert Kelly Chang Rickert explained to Hollywood Life on January 24. “In these cases the judge acts like a judge not a mediator. They are not meeting with him to try and resolve issues as such they will be litigating and he will hear them and make orders.”

Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie parted ways in September and on September 19, Jolie filed for divorce and requested full physical custody of their children, Maddox, 15, Pax, 13, Zahara, 11, Shiloh, 10, and twins Vivienne and Knox, 8. As fans will recall, Maddox, Pax and Zahara were all adopted from different countries while Shiloh, Vivienne and Knox, were welcomed biologically.

Although things got ugly quick between Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie, they are reportedly doing what they can, at least at this point, to keep their private matters between them. In fact, hiring a private judge was a big step towards a civil split. Previously, documents in regard to their children were filed publicly, which didn’t sit well with Brad Pitt, who requested their documents be sealed shortly thereafter.

“It really is a much better way to resolve disputes if you can afford it, however, it comes at a cost,” Kelly Chang Rickert explained. “On top of the $450 per hour for Judge Ouderkirk, it also costs up to $1,250 an hour for top lawyers like Laura Wasser (Angelina’s attorney) and Lance Spiegel (Brad’s attorney). They will not be negotiating a flat rate or anything like that and the costs can vary dramatically dependent on the case. It can cost as much as $500,000 a month for the overly litigious cases.”

The Hollywood Life report revealed that when all is said and done, Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie’s divorce could cost a whopping $6 million. Luckily, both parties have plenty of money. According to a report by the Hollywood Take, Brad Pitt reportedly has a net worth of $240 million while his estranged wife is reportedly worth $160 million. The former couple also owns tons of properties both together and separately, including homes in Los Angeles, New York and France.

In other Brad Pitt news, the actor recently threw a private party at Hotel Casa Del Mar in Santa Monica, California, and when he left, he was reportedly toting a special gift for his kids.

“[Brad Pitt] had an intimate party in one of the rooms,” a source revealed to Us Weekly magazine on January 23. “He spent the night at the hotel and left in the morning with a big gold and white balloon arrangement that he wanted to take home for his kids.”

According to the report, Brad Pitt and his staff also brought a few bottles of wine and Perrier-Jouet champagne from the party and loaded it into the actor’s car the next morning as he left.

While Brad Pitt has been going through some understandably hard times with his estranged wife, he is reportedly getting back into shape as he continues to fight for joint custody of their children. Meanwhile, his relationship with the group has been quite different than it has in the past due to his being placed on a limited visitation schedule.

[Featured Image by Robin Marchant/Getty Images]