Zahara Jolie and Maddox Jolie have taken the next formal step towards legally removing Brad Pitt's surname.

Court records show both siblings have completed California's required newspaper publication process before their name-change hearings, with the children of actors Angelina Jolie, 51, and Brad Pitt, 62, each publishing legal notices in the Los Angeles Daily Journal over four consecutive weeks as part of their petitions to change their names from Jolie-Pitt to Jolie.

According to the papers obtained by Page Six. Zahara, 21, filed to become Zahara Marley Jolie after publicly using the name during her graduation from Spelman College earlier this year - while Maddox, 24, is seeking to change his name to Maddox Chivan Jolie.

The latest filings come months after former couple Brad and Angelina's daughter Shiloh, 20, legally removed Pitt from her surname, while their daughter Vivienne, 18, has also publicly used Jolie professionally.

The family continues to make headlines following the long-running aftermath of Angelina and Brad's separation and divorce proceedings.

According to the new court documents, Zahara's legal notice appeared in the Los Angeles Daily Journal on June 16, June 23, June 30 and July 7.

The notice states anyone wishing to oppose the application must submit written objections before the scheduled court hearing.

Zahara is due to appear before a judge on 28 September, when the petition can be approved if no objections are lodged.

Court records also show Maddox's notice ran in the same publication on June 10, June 17, June 24 and July 1.

Publishing the notice in a newspaper is one of the legal requirements under California law before a judge can approve a name change.

Zahara filed last month to change her legal name from Zahara Jolie-Pitt to Zahara Jolie.

She had already publicly dropped Pitt from her name during her graduation ceremony at Spelman College, where she was introduced as Zahara Marley Jolie while receiving her diploma.

Maddox also filed his own petition in May, seeking to change his legal name from Maddox Chivan Jolie-Pitt to Maddox Chivan Jolie.

Court documents list the reason for the request as "personal".

Maddox had already stopped using Pitt professionally, with the surname omitted from the credits of Angelina's recent film Couture.

A 2021 report by Us Weekly stated Maddox "doesn't use Pitt as his last name on documents that aren't legal and instead uses Jolie", while also reporting Angelina "doesn't support" that decision.

Vivienne also appeared to use Jolie professionally while working alongside Angelina on the Broadway adaptation of The Outsiders, where she was credited in the production's Playbill as 'Vivienne Jolie'.

Shiloh became the first of the Pitt-Jolie siblings to complete the legal process after filing to remove Pitt from her surname on her 18th birthday.

Entertainment Tonight reported in June 2024 she "hired her own lawyer and paid for it herself".

Reports have suggested all six of Brad and Angelina's children have become increasingly estranged from Brad following his and Angelina's separation in 2016.

However, Page Six recently reported Pax remains close to members of Brad's extended family despite having "doesn't have much of a relationship with Brad", according to a source quoted by the publication.

Angelina remains best known for films including Girl, Interrupted, Maleficent, Mr. and Mrs. Smith, Lara Croft: Tomb Raider and Maria, while Brad's career spans Fight Club, Once Upon a Time in Hollywood, The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, Ocean's Eleven and the recently released F1.