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Custody will be important issue in Pitt-Jolie divorce

Many of our readers have heard by now of the impending divorce of Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie. Like any couple, they celebrities care for their children, and so custody is bound to be a significant issue in their divorce. That this is the case is evident in the fact that all six of their children—including the three children the couple adopted— are listed on the petition with both celebrities listed as the mother and father.

The fact that the three adopted children are listed as they are in the filing is a good sign, from the perspective of what is generally best for the kids. According to family law attorneys who are aware of the case, the children will be treated as a unit such that they will all go together for purposes of custody. At least that is the hope for the case. As can be expected, adopted children are typically more prone to fear of abandonment, and divorce can trigger that fear.

For adopted children, the general process used in child custody proceedings is the same as for any other child. As in any child custody proceedings, the best interests of the children will be the primary consideration in the case. Naturally, the court handling the case will give consideration to the fact that the children were adopted, and any special needs or circumstances that accompany that fact. Keeping adopted siblings together is likely to be a preference, as will keeping together all siblings—adopted or otherwise.

It remains to be seen, in Pitt and Jolie’s case, how custody will be assigned. Some of that may depend on findings the court makes regarding each parent. Given some of the rumors that have been circulating about Brad Pitt, he may face difficulties in the child custody process.

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