Brad Pitt's daughter Zahara clears huge legal hurdle to drop his last name

Brad Pitt's family troubles continue to rumble on in public as his daughter looks to have cleared a key legal issue in her bid to change her last name.

Information obtained by Fox News has revealed that Zahara Pitt's petition to remove her dad’s last name was published in the Los Angeles Journal four times: June 16, 23, 30 and July 7.

California law usually requires the publication of an 'Order to Show Cause' before they are legally obligated to grant permission to change a name.

Now that Zahara - who now goes by Zahara Marley Jolie - has done this, it has removed all legal hurdles, meaning she can go ahead and change her name.

She now has her date in court on September 28, and unless anybody files an objection, it's likely this will now be ratified by the state.

Zahara Marley Jolie will very likely have the surname Pitt legally dropped from her name (Vivien Killilea/Getty Images for Palm Springs International Film Society)

If granted, her legal name will change from Zahara Marley Jolie-Pitt to Zahara Marley Jolie. Her name change follows her sister Shiloh's name change in 2024.

Zahara, now 21 and a college student, wants to permanently reclaim her identity by legally changing her last name to Zahara Jolie, after her mom, Angelina Jolie.

She currently studies at Spelman College in Atlanta, where she's majoring in psychology with a minor in educational studies.

Why does Brad Pitt not get on with his children?

The estrangement between Brad Pitt and his children primarily stems from a highly publicized 2016 private jet altercation.

Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie have six children: Maddox, Pax, Zahara, Shiloh, Knox, and Vivienne (Photo by Jun Sato/WireImage)

As reported by The Telegraph, during the flight, Pitt allegedly verbally and physically attacked Jolie and some of their six children.

While an FBI investigation cleared him of criminal charges, the incident led to Jolie filing for divorce and the children largely distancing themselves from him.

Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie began divorce proceedings in 2016.

At the time, Jolie cited 'irreconcilable differences' as the reason for her split from Pitt, and requested sole custody of all six children they share.

Is Zahara close to her mom?

Despite this, Zahara remains close to Jolie.

In April, she spoke at a mother-daughter brunch for the Pearls of Purpose Foundation in Atlanta, where she was featured as the special guest.

Zahara remains close to her mom Angelina Jolie, who she recently described as 'the most selfless, loving, and understanding woman' (Photo by Francis Specker/CBS via Getty Images)

In the speech, she opened up about her relationship with her mum, saying: "When asked to speak with you all today on the value of mother-daughter relationships, it felt challenging to find the words.

"Not challenging because I don't value it, but because my mom and I have a unique, almost kindred, relationship that can be hard to put into words."

She complimented her on 'raising us on the values of helping others, being kind, and always striving for growth', adding that she was 'grateful to have had a role model to show me what it looks like to be a decent human being.'

Zahara concluded by saying she was 'the most selfless, loving, and understanding woman who I get to call my mom'.

UNILAD has contacted a representative of Brad Pitt for comment.