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Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie Are Married: 3 Legal Questions

By Daniel Taylor, Esq. on August 28, 2014 | Last updated on March 21, 2019

Brangelina has become official.

After years of speculation as to when, or if, the famous couple would ever tie the knot after getting engaged in 2012, Brad Pitt and Angelia Jolie managed to sneak in a private wedding ceremony in France, a spokesman told The Associated Press.

What are some of the legal questions the newlyweds may be facing?

  1. Is it legal to get married in another country? According to The Associated Press, the couple was married in the small French town Correns. Generally, a legal marriage performed in another country will be valid in the United States. Although, depending on the state you live in and the country in which the marriage is performed, you may want to double check. Brad and Angelina, however, made sure there would be no problems by obtaining a marriage license from a California judge before the ceremony. That same judge also traveled to France to conduct the ceremony, reports The Associated Press.
  2. Will the marriage affect the legal rights of the couple's six children? In addition to the couple's three biological children, Pitt and Jolie also have three adopted children. Although the adopted children were adopted by Jolie as a single woman, Pitt later became the adopted father of all three, and thus already had paternal rights to all six of the couple's children prior to the couple's marriage.
  3. Was there a prenup? Although there is no official confirmation that the couple entered into a prenuptial agreement prior to their marriage, the sizable nature of both Pitt and Jolie's personal assets makes it likely that they did. A prenup is an agreement that sets forth the property rights of both spouses during the marriage and in the event of a divorce. Without a prenuptial agreement, in California where the couple live, any money earned by either spouse during marriage would typically be considered community property, belonging equally to both spouses and generally divided equally in a divorce.

Having your own legal issues regarding marriage or children? Even if you're not Brad or Angelina, a family law attorney can help explain the laws in your state.

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