The legal process is now underway. Brad Pitt's daughter Zahara and son Maddox have both published formal notices in the Los Angeles Daily Journal announcing their intention to drop Pitt from their last names — the final step before their court hearings later this year.
Zahara's hearing is scheduled for September 28. Maddox's is on September 14.
Zahara had already been going by Zahara Marley Jolie for years — she introduced herself by that name when she joined a sorority at Spelman College, and walked at her graduation ceremony under that name as well. Her father reportedly did not attend. A source close to Jolie said at the time that nothing prevented him from showing up.
Maddox was credited as Maddox Jolie-Pitt while working as a production assistant on his mother's biopic Maria — suggesting the legal change has simply formalised what was already his preference in practice.
They are not alone. Shiloh legally changed her name to Shiloh Jolie shortly after turning 18 last year. Vivienne has been credited as Vivienne Jolie on Broadway playbills. That makes four of Pitt's six children who have now either legally dropped or stopped using his name.
Sources close to Pitt have insisted to the Daily Mail that he is not the absent father he has been portrayed as and that he wants a relationship with all six of his children. Sources close to Jolie have pushed back — saying his fractured relationships with his children are a direct result of how he has treated them and that he should acknowledge his own actions rather than placing blame elsewhere.
Brad Pitt has been dating jewelry designer Ines de Ramon and recently went Instagram official. The legal hearings for Zahara and Maddox are set for later this year.