LOS ANGELES   -  Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt are preparing to sign a custody agreement.

The former couple - who split in September 2016 - had been due to take their dispute to a private trial next month but they are close to finalising an arrangement over the care of their six children, Maddox, 17, Pax, 14, Zahara, 13, Shiloh, 12, and 10-year-old twins Knox and Vivienne.

According to The Blast, the pair have agreed the ongoing fight is hurting the children so want to tie up the issue and avoid the pain of a lengthy court battle. Though Angelina, 43, had originally wanted sole custody of the kids and is said to have fought for the ‘World War Z’ actor to get ‘’minimal’’ time with his brood, the agreement will include a ‘’substantial’’ amount of time given to Brad, 54.

With a custody deal close to being agreed, the former couple will now be turning their attentions to the financial part of their divorce, with hundreds of millions of dollars in property and cash to be divided.

The ‘Maleficent’ star recently handed over her financial information to Brad’s legal team as part of the negotiations. It was previously claimed the former couple had agreed to ‘’work together’’ to try and resolve their custody issues before the trial came around. A source said: ‘’Both parties continue to work together toward a settlement.’’

The pair began custody evaluations last month, and in August, they reached an ‘’interim’’ arrangement over the care of their kids, just weeks after the ‘Salt’ actress accused the ‘Moneyball’ actor of not paying any ‘’meaningful’’ child support since she filed for divorce.

However, a few days later, the ‘Fight Club’ star argued he had ‘’loaned’’ his estranged wife $8 million to help her purchase her current house and contributed over $1.3 million ‘’in bills for the benefit of [Jolie] and the minor children.’’ His lawyer Lance Spiegel added that Brad ‘’adamantly disputes the contention that he has not paid child support.’’

Earlier this year, Angelina was ordered by a judge to allow her children to spend more time with their father, or risk losing custody.

The judge told her: ‘’If the minor children remain closed down to their father and depending on the circumstances surrounding this condition, it may result in a reduction of the time they spend with [Jolie] and may result in the Court ordering primary physical custody to [Pitt].’’

CM