EXCLUSIVE: Hollywood's costliest - and most acrimonious - divorce! Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie 'have spent $1M each' in their bitter battle that began in 2016 and could go on for another SIX YEARS
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- Published on Wednesday, 31 March 2021 06:32
- Written by Daily mail
Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie's bitter divorce battle is on course to become Hollywood's costliest ever in legal fees alone – and could still rumble on for another six years, according to legal experts.The couple have been locked in a courtroom showdown since Angie, 45, filed for divorce from Brad, 57, in September, 2016 citing irreconcilable differences.Legal experts in Los Angeles say each have each spent over $1million in legal costs already - and say the custody battle could go on for six more years.The parents-of-six still have not reached a settlement on how to split their multi-million dollar fortunes or the custody of their five underage kids.Angie recently sold a painting by Winston Churchill that Brad is believed to have gifted her.Rumors quickly spread that she offloaded the artwork – which sold at auction in London for a record $11.5million earlier this month – to shore up her legal war chest for the battle ahead with Once Upon a Time in Hollywood actor Brad.LA divorce attorney Kelly Chang Rickert told DailyMail.com: 'I think this could become one of the most expensive divorce cases in Hollywood history in terms of legal fees.'It has been going on for over four years now so it's definitely one of the longest celebrity cases we've ever seen.'I believe Angelina and Brad have already spent over $1million each.'They are both employing very reputable attorneys and Angelina has already gone through several.'Hourly rates may range from between $1,000 to $1,500 and I would estimate that these lawyers may be billing 40 or 50 hours a week at times.'They have also hired a private judge who probably bills around $900 to $1,000 an hour, so he is probably costing $10,000 a day.'If they used him for a five-day trial, he would probably take $50,000 up front and another $10,000 to review paperwork beforehand.'I would say they've paid the judge himself probably close to half a million dollars between them,' she added. 'When Angelina recently sold the painting at auction, people asked if that meant they are close to settling.'I actually think she sold it to pay more attorney's fees, that's just my pessimistic divorce lawyer point of view,' Rickert said. 'I wouldn't be surprised that that's what it's for, but it could be for other things too.'Angelina seems to think she can get sole custody of the kids, but that is just not the case.'She can keep paying millions and millions and millions but as long as Brad wants custody and fights for it, she's going to have to share.'Their youngest kids, twins Knox and Vivienne, are 12 so this could go on another six years until they reach the age of majority at 18.'I've definitely had cases go on and on and on until the kids are adults.'Very nasty ones keep going and Angelina changing attorneys is an indication that she needs to get her own way and isn't willing to give up. It's almost worse when people have the money because they'll just keep fighting.'Other people run out of money but Angelina has the means to keep paying for lawyers.' Another factor that is setting the ex-couple - formerly known as Brangelina - back to the tune of hundreds of thousands of dollars is expert witness fees. In August last year, Brad's lawyers presented a list of 21 witnesses he expected to call for a child custody trial – including several mental health experts. Meanwhile, Angie presented a list with seven names, of which five were expert witnesses.Asked about the cost of these experts, family lawyer Joe Spirito said: 'It depends on the type of expert but for mental health experts or accountants, I would expect them to be getting around $500 an hour.'When you have experts that are in the mental health profession to evaluate custody it can cost $100,000 for the work done by one expert alone.'In this case there are several children and the marriage lasted several years so I wouldn't be surprised if in total legal fees were in excess of $1 million.'One of the main assets at stake in the acrimonious divorce case is the former couple's Chateau Miraval vineyard and castle in Correns, France.Brad and Angie bought the property for $67million in 2008 and married there in August 2014.Mr Spirito said: 'In California we are a community property state, which means the presumption is if you acquire property after you're married, that is community property.'If one party alleges they bought the property prior to marriage and then put their spouse on the title, they might have a reimbursement claim for the amount of money that they put in that was separate.'It can become very convoluted and people hire accountants to try to trace the money and see what's community and what's separate.'Due to the fact that it's out of the country, California may not have jurisdiction over the estate but funds in California could be used to offset the asset in France.'
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source : Daily mail 
Angelina Jolie steps out with daughter Shiloh amid claims she is 'prepared to provide proof of domestic violence' in divorce battle with ex Brad Pitt
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- Published on Saturday, 27 March 2021 16:20
- Written by Daily mail
Angelina Jolie was seen with her daughter Shiloh amid reports she is 'prepared to provide proof of domestic violence' in her divorce battle with ex Brad Pitt.The outing came after it was claimed Brad is 'heartbroken that Angelina has gone that route' and feels that 'there's a lot of emotion left after their marriage'.On Friday, the actress, 45, and Shiloh were seen with a trolley full of goods after shopping at a fabric store, where they loaded up with supplies before heading home.Angelina looked typically chic in a long white linen dress, which she teamed with a cream mac and a pair of sandals.Meanwhile Shiloh, 14, sported a black hoodie and shorts, while also wearing a pair of black trainers as she helped her mom push the trolley.The mother and daughter duo, who were both sporting face masks, were later seen loading up their black Range Rover with their purchases.Earlier this week it was reported that Brad, 57, is saddened over the leak that Angelina is now 'prepared to provide proof' of domestic abuse in the couple's contentious custody battle.An alleged altercation between son Maddox, 19, and Brad in 2016 was said to have been the final straw for Angelina, who filed paperwork indicating that both she and her children are willing to offer testimony and 'proof and authority' in support of her allegations, according to documents obtained by The Blast.Now Pitt is 'heartbroken that Angelina has gone that route. There's a lot of emotion left after their marriage,' a source close to the actor told Page Six.The source added: 'He has taken responsibility for his actions and owned up to his past issues, he's stopped drinking.''The marriage was very passionate and toxic at times and — like all couples — they had fights, but also shared many good times together. He has talked about his drink and drug problems during the time they were together,' they continued.The Once Upon A Time... In Hollywood star has never been arrested or charged for any offense during the couple's marriage, nor have any police reports been made.Soon after the couple filed for divorce in 2016, it was revealed that Brad was being investigated by the FBI and social services in LA amid reports he got 'verbally abusive and physical with his children' on a private jet, yet he was cleared.'Brad and his camp has never attacked Angelina. But his camp feels this leak was calculated to sway opinion ahead of the conclusion of their trial,' the source said.'Brad feels like he's being more and more isolated from his children, and he's devastated about it.'The pair share Maddox, Zahara, 16, Pax, 17, Shiloh and twins Knox and Vivienne, 12, and are hashing out custody and financial arrangements in the trial, which will see their youngest children provide testimony if they give permission.Sources tell the publication that the kids have been interviewed by court-appointed therapists. It was reported that Maddox has 'already given testimony as [an] adult in the ongoing custody dispute and it wasn't very flattering towards Brad'.'He doesn't use Pitt as his last name on documents that aren't legal and instead uses Jolie,' the source told US Weekly. 'Maddox wants to legally change his last name to Jolie, which Angelina has said she does't support.' A source told MailOnline: 'She has made similar allegations in the past which were investigated by the authorities and not substantiated.'The source added: 'This is the latest sad and desperate attempt to advance a false narrative at any cost.'These have been the same attacks repeated for the past 4 ½ years and anyone who is perceived to be standing in the way can expect to have their credibility challenged.'
MailOnline contacted representatives of the former couple for comment at the time.In October, the bitter divorce battle hit yet another bump in the road after the actress parted ways with one of her high-priced attorneys.Priya Sopori, an LA-based former federal prosecutor who has been working with Jolie's lead lawyer, Samantha DeJean, is out after filing a 'Notice of Withdrawal of Attorney of Record' with LA Superior Court, DailyMail.com learnt at the time.Sopori is a partner with California law firm Greenberg Glusker LLP. It is not known whether Jolie - who is fighting Pitt's efforts to win 50/50 custody of their children - fired Sopori or if the attorney made the decision to quit.But the change in her high profile team at this late stage signals Jolie's resolve to get what she wants has only hardened.A source close to Jolie told DailyMail.com: 'Angelina has fought tooth and nail to get what she wants in this divorce, when it comes to her kids she won't back down...' It's not the first time the Girl, Interrupted star has parted company with a lawyer she's hired during the long-running five year divorce saga.In 2018, superstar LA divorce attorney Laura Wasser - whose client list reads like a Who's Who of Hollywood - stopped working for Jolie when the actress's legal fight with Pitt reportedly became too 'venomous and nasty.'Wasser - who has represented Johnny Depp, Kim Kardashian, Ryan Reynolds, Stevie Wonder, Christina Aguilera, Ashton Kutcher and many other stars - has earned a reputation as a lawyer who tries to take the sting out of break-ups by promoting compromise between warring couples and shared custody of children.So it was thought at the time that Jolie's hard-nosed attitude toward Pitt was not a good fit with Wasser's more gentle, conciliatory approach.After Wasser, Jolie hired San Francisco-based DeJean who is now the only lawyer representing her in the long-running custody dispute with Pitt.The former couple are dragging security experts from two continents, an entourage of personal assistants and bodyguards, a former Jolie co-star and an army of child psychologists and doctors to give evidence in an upcoming custody trial that's expected to be held in private.Lists of witnesses filed in a Los Angeles court and seen by DailyMail.com reveal 21 people who will be testifying in the movie stars' legal fight over their children.One witness will be domestic violence expert Alyce LaViolette, who controversially clashed with a prosecutor in a 2013 murder trial by describing killer Jodi Arias as the victim of abuse. Brad has also listed his ex-wife's personal assistant Michael Ofstedahl and Jolie's friend and Girl, Interrupted costar Jillian Armenante as witnesses – a sign that Pitt is willing to pull out all the stops to win joint custody.Pitt and Jolie famously fell in love on the set of Mr. & Mrs. Smith, while Pitt was still married to Jennifer Aniston. The couple married in France in 2014 after 10 years of dating, but split two years later in September 2016.In the period that followed their initial separation in 2016, the pair duked it out over custody and financial arrangements, with Brad arguing he'd provided more than adequate funding but Angie demanding a greater share of his $300m fortune. A big factor in the former couple's battle is Jolie's desire to move the children abroad. Pitt, is vehemently opposed to her moving them to a foreign country.In 2019, Angelina admitted: 'I would love to live abroad and will do so as soon as my children are 18. Right now, I'm having to base where their father chooses to live.'In June 2019, Brad – who admitted being an alcoholic at the time of their split but is now recovered – secured a legal breakthrough when a judge ruled he would be permitted more time with the children. He is believed to see them every few days.The kids are shuttled back and forth in blacked-out SUVs and limousines between their parents' LA homes, which are around a mile from one another in the affluent suburb also inhabited by stars including Ryan Gosling, Eva Mendes and Zac Efron.In early April last year, the superstars came to an agreement that will see the children attend a more traditional schooling program in LA, marking an end to their homeschooling regime. Jolie said she stands by her choice to leave Pitt.'It was the right decision,' the actress told Vogue in June 2020.'I continue to focus on their (the kids') healing. Some have taken advantage of my silence, and the children see lies about themselves in the media, but I remind them that they know their own truth and their own minds.'The custody trial was due to start late last year but it was delayed after Angelina asked for the private judge to be replaced, claiming that he 'failed to disclose' that he was working other cases with one of Brad's lawyers.
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source : Daily mail
Angelina and Brad - the end game: ALISON BOSHOFF on Jolie's claims to have video that PROVES 'domestic violence' – as private jet row takes divorce war to new heights
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- Published on Saturday, 20 March 2021 17:52
- Written by Daily mail
The legal battle started four-and-a-half years ago and has lasted more than twice as long as their marriage.Now it seems the split between Hollywood stars Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie has entered a bitter ‘endgame’ phase.Documents filed this week by Miss Jolie, 45, indicate that not only will she again accuse Pitt, 57, of domestic violence when their custody case comes to court this year, but that she intends to prove this with video recordings and testimony from their six children.What’s not in dispute is that the fallout has strained Pitt’s relationship with his children. Tellingly, his eldest adopted son, Maddox, 19, is said to no longer use Pitt as his last name, and wants to legally change it.It is far from the only legal bombshell for Pitt to contend with.Miss Jolie’s latest memorandum was filed to court ‘under seal’, meaning it is private and cannot be viewed by the public. However, its title gives a lot away: ‘Offer of Proof and authority in support thereof re: Testimony regarding domestic violence.’The alleged violence is thought to relate to an incident aboard a private plane taking the family from Paris to Minnesota overnight on September 14, 2016 – and is said to have prompted their split.Five days later, Miss Jolie announced they were separating and she was seeking a divorce ‘for the health of the family’.She asked for full custody of their six children: adopted sons Maddox and 17-year-old Pax, adopted daughter Zahara, 16, and the couple’s three children together, Shiloh, 14, and twins Knox and Vivienne, 12.Pitt demanded a 50/50 split and the issue is finally due to go to court in Los Angeles this year.At the outset, Miss Jolie’s manager Geyer Kosinski hinted at domestic violence when he remarked: ‘Angelina will always do what is in the best interest to protect her children.’Behind the scenes, her team of friends told me that she had felt compelled to act after an ‘incident’ on the plane.The role of Maddox, then 15, was widely raised. One source said that Pitt ‘attacked’ Maddox. Others said that Pitt and Miss Jolie argued and Maddox jumped in to defend her verbally. Pitt then supposedly ‘lunged’ at the boy.
Sources were quoted describing a ‘parent-child argument which was not handled in the right way’.One said: ‘Brad is emphatic that it did not reach the level of physical abuse, that no one was physically harmed. 'He did not hit his child in the face in any way. He did not do that; he is emphatic about that. He put his hands on him, yes, because the confrontation was spiralling out of control.’The FBI and the Department of Children and Family Services investigated but neither found Pitt was a danger to the children.At the time, it was reported by US Weekly magazine that Miss Jolie had video of the incident on the plane, possibly taken by a third party such as a bodyguard, which showed Pitt ‘looking drunk’ and ‘yelling.’American family law expert Evie P Jeang said this week of the filing: ‘If Angelina has more documentation to prove domestic violence towards her or the children, she can submit it as a supplemental offer to prove in trial.‘She can say these are the documentations in addition to what she already presented. This could mean it’s a more recent instance of domestic violence, or further documentation related to what was presented before.’A friend of Pitt told me: ‘He is a flawed human being, like we all are, but a very good father and a nice guy.’Another source said: ‘Over the past four-and-a-half years there have been a number of claims made by Angelina that have been reviewed and not substantiated.‘The children have been used by Angelina to hurt Brad before and this is more of that behaviour. This leaking of documents by her fourth or fifth set of lawyers has been done to hurt Brad.’Miss Jolie’s lawyers also filed a memo to the court of ‘proof and support’ under seal: ‘RE: Testimony of minor children.’This would cover the five younger children, and if granted allow them to give evidence to the custody hearing.
Only Maddox, who is studying for a biochemistry degree in Korea, is an adult. He alone is understood to have declined all contact with Pitt since the split in 2016.t seems unlikely that Miss Jolie will succeed in getting this past the judge because crucially both parents have to agree if minor children give evidence.Pitt has already indicated he wants to keep the children out of the spotlight as far as possible.In December 2016 his legal team accused Miss Jolie of releasing sensitive details to the media through public court filings. He claimed that she ‘appears to be determined to ignore even agreed upon standards relating to the children’s best interest’.Miss Jolie’s team has also filed an under seal memo ‘of intent to offer video recording of the deposition of Ross Foster at trial’.Mr Foster is a bodyguard who worked for the couple and he is also on Pitt’s list of witnesses.However what Miss Jolie is saying here is that she has a video tape of a statement by him which she thinks will assist her case in gaining full custody of the children.She is also saying that she intends to offer ‘video recording of the deposition of respondent’ – who is Pitt.This is presumably because she believes that Pitt damns himself during it. The circumstances during which this deposition was taken are not known but it seems possible this may be the footage shot on the private jet during that altercation.How the romance between Hollywood’s hottest actors, which started in 2004 when they co-starred in Mr And Mrs Smith, broke down so quickly and with such animosity can be traced back to the time the couple ‘put each other through hell’ during the filming of By The Sea, a film about a marriage in crisis.
This was made in Malta directly after they wed in 2014.When it was released, Miss Jolie said: ‘Making the movie, we knew we were beating each other up. 'We knew we were giving each other tough days. But we agreed to see how far we could push each other.’ The actress added: ‘To be clear: We have fights and problems like any other couple. We have days when we drive each other absolutely mad and want space, but the problems in the movie aren’t our specific problems.’Directly after filming wrapped, they were pictured arguing on the terrace of their hotel suite in Sydney, Australia.Tension between the pair only increased. In 2017 they released a statement saying they were seeking mediation via a private judge.Pitt gave a tearful interview to GQ magazine in which he said that he had been drinking too much, and not listening enough, and now just wanted peace.Miss Jolie bought a £19million house around the corner from his home and there were reports that after court-appointed therapy they were ready to agree on custody. Pitt was said to have quietly completed a ‘VIP rehab’ and be attending both Alcoholics Anonymous and Narcotics Anonymous.But it didn’t last. In 2018 Miss Jolie accused Pitt of not paying her ‘meaningful support’ since the split. He countered that he had loaned her nearly £6million plus almost £1million for bills.Her lawyer then announced that the couple had reached a custody agreement – but they hadn’t. All that had been agreed was to ratify a rolling arrangement.Moves were then made to split the divorce into two parts and attain single status even though issues of custody, access and finance remain unsettled. This happened in April 2019.Initially, Pitt was allowed to see the children only for supervised visits. Then shared custody was agreed and Miss Jolie was warned by a judge to stop snooping on cellphone contact between father and children. Currently, attempts are made to co-parent amicably using an app to help co-ordinate the children’s schedules.
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source : Daily mail
Angelina Jolie is 'prepared to provide proof and authority of domestic violence' in bitter divorce battle with ex-husband Brad Pitt
- Details
- Published on Thursday, 18 March 2021 06:22
- Written by Daily mail
Angelina Jolie is 'prepared to provide proof of domestic abuse' in her divorce trial against ex Brad Pitt, new reports have claimed.Documents obtained by The Blast reportedly show the actress, 45, has stated she is willing to offer 'proof and authority' in support of alleged domestic violence that occurred during her two year marriage to the star, 57. The couple share kids, Maddox, 19, Zahara, 16, Pax, 17, Shiloh, 14, and twins Knox and Vivienne, 12, and are hashing out custody and financial arrangements in the trial, which will see their youngest children provide testimony if they give permission. Soon after the couple filed for divorce in 2016, it was revealed that Brad was being investigated by the FBI and social services in LA amid reports he got 'verbally abusive and physical with his children' on a private jet yet he was cleared.A source told MailOnline: 'She has made similar allegations in the past which were investigated by the authorities and not substantiated.'The source added: 'This is the latest sad and desperate attempt to advance a false narrative at any cost. 'These have been the same attacks repeated for the past 4 ½ years and anyone who is perceived to be standing in the way can expect to have their credibility challenged.'MailOnline has contacted representatives for the couple for comment. After the 2016 incident, Brad was cleared of abuse allegations by the LA County Department Of Children And Family Services, as it was confirmed he had not committed child abuse when he got into a fight with Maddox aboard a private jet.As well as detailing her domestic abuse claims, the documents show that the court is seeking permission from the couple for Shiloh, Knox, and Vivienne to testify. In October, the bitter divorce battle hit yet another bump in the road after the actress parted ways with one of her high-priced attorneys.Priya Sopori, an LA-based former federal prosecutor who has been working with Jolie's lead lawyer, Samantha DeJean, is out after filing a 'Notice of Withdrawal of Attorney of Record' with LA Superior Court, DailyMail.com has learned.
Sopori is a partner with California law firm Greenberg Glusker LLP. It is not known whether Jolie - who is fighting Pitt's efforts to win 50/50 custody of their children - fired Sopori or if the attorney made the decision to quit. But the change in her high profile team at this late stage signals Jolie's resolve to get what she wants has only hardened.A source close to Jolie told DailyMail.com: 'Angelina has fought tooth and nail to get what she wants in this divorce, when it comes to her kids she won't back down...'She's paying her legal team a fortune, so if she believes one of her lawyers needs to go she won't hesitate to pull the trigger.' It's not the first time the Girl, Interrupted star has parted company with a lawyer she's hired during the long-running five year divorce saga.In 2018, superstar LA divorce attorney Laura Wasser - whose client list reads like a Who's Who of Hollywood - stopped working for Jolie when the actress's legal fight with Pitt, 56, reportedly became too 'venomous and nasty.'Wasser - who has represented Johnny Depp, Kim Kardashian, Ryan Reynolds, Stevie Wonder, Christina Aguilera, Ashton Kutcher and many other stars - has earned a reputation as a lawyer who tries to take the sting out of break-ups by promoting compromise between warring couples and shared custody of children.So it was thought at the time that Jolie's hard-nosed attitude toward Pitt was not a good fit with Wasser's more gentle, conciliatory approach.After Wasser, Jolie hired San Francisco-based DeJean who is now the only lawyer representing her in the long-running custody dispute with Pitt.The former couple are dragging security experts from two continents, an entourage of personal assistants and bodyguards, a former Jolie co-star and an army of child psychologists and doctors to give evidence in an upcoming custody trial that's expected to be held in private.Lists of witnesses filed in a Los Angeles court and seen by DailyMail.com reveal 21 people who will be testifying in the movie stars' legal fight over their children, Pax, 16, Zahara, 15, Shiloh, 14, and twins Knox and Vivienne, 12. They have a sixth child, Maddox, but he's a 19 year-old adult.
One witness will be domestic violence expert Alyce LaViolette, who controversially clashed with a prosecutor in a 2013 murder trial by describing killer Jodi Arias as the victim of abuse. Brad has also listed his ex-wife's personal assistant Michael Ofstedahl and Jolie's friend and Girl, Interrupted costar Jillian Armenante as witnesses – a sign that Pitt is willing to pull out all the stops to win joint custody. Pitt and Jolie famously fell in love on the set of Mr. & Mrs. Smith, while Pitt was still married to Jennifer Aniston. The couple married in France in 2014 after 10 years of dating, but split two years later in September 2016.In the period that followed their initial separation in 2016, the pair duked it out over custody and financial arrangements, with Brad arguing he'd provided more than adequate funding but Angie demanding a greater share of his $300m fortune. A big factor in the couple's battle is Jolie's desire to move the children abroad.Pitt, is vehemently opposed to her moving them to a foreign country.In 2019, Angelina admitted: 'I would love to live abroad and will do so as soon as my children are 18. Right now, I'm having to base where their father chooses to live.'In June 2019, Brad – who admitted being an alcoholic at the time of their split but is now recovered – secured a legal breakthrough when a judge ruled he would be permitted more time with the children. He is believed to see them every few days.The kids are shuttled back and forth in blacked-out SUVs and limousines between their parents' LA homes, which are around a mile from one another in the affluent suburb also inhabited by star including Ryan Gosling, Eva Mendes and Zac Efron.In early April last year, the superstars came to an agreement that will see the children attend a more traditional schooling program in LA, marking an end to their homeschooling regime. Jolie said she stands by her choice to leave Pitt.'It was the right decision,' the actress told Vogue in June 2020.'I continue to focus on their (the kids') healing. Some have taken advantage of my silence, and the children see lies about themselves in the media, but I remind them that they know their own truth and their own minds.'The custody trial was due to start late last year but it was delayed after Angelina asked for the private judge to be replaced, claiming that he 'failed to disclose' that he was working other cases with one of Brad's lawyers.
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source : Daily mail
Angelina Jolie's £19million home after divorce from Brad Pitt is fit for royalty
- Details
- Published on Saturday, 27 February 2021 16:26
- Written by Hello
Angelina Jolie bought the mansion in 2017.Angelina Jolie splashed out on a lavish Hollywood mansion in 2017, following her divorce from Brad Pitt. The actress is said to have spent £19million ($25million) on the property in Los Feliz, California as a home for herself and her six children to live in, and they have stayed there ever since.It was previously owned by legendary US filmmaker Cecil B. DeMille and sits on a 2.1 acre estate in the gated community of Laughlin Park, which is home to fellow stars including Natalie Portman, Kristen Stewart and Casey Affleck. Angelina's home sits on the highest plot of the estate, with panoramic views across the famous Griffith Observatory and Pacific Ocean.The six-bedroom, ten-bathroom home clocks in at 11,000 square feet, offering plenty of room for Angelina and her brood to relax and unwind in complete privacy. And there are enough facilities that the family will never be short of entertainment, including an outdoor swimming pool with an adjoining pool house, a home gym and comfortable library as well as huge landscaped gardens for the children to play in. Click through the gallery to see inside Angelina's home…
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source : Hello Magazine
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