Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt have reached a divorce agreement

Academy Award-winning actress Angelina Jolie has reached an agreement with Brad Pitt on their divorce and the custody of their six children just days before the actor was set to file court motions to force a settlement after their acrimonious eight-year legal standoff, two people familiar with the matter told Reuters.

The sources, who declined to be further identified, said a court hearing had been set for Jan. 5 in Los Angeles, after Jolie had previously objected to a custody agreement that favored Pitt. The date for Pitt to file a new round of legal motions had been set for Jan. 2.

The Los Angeles County probate judge overseeing the divorce proceedings had been seeking to finalize the contentious split by year's end.

Jolie has been in talks to settle divorce issues as part of the agreement and to finalize a custody arrangement for the kids. The agreement comes after a long back-and-forth in which Pitt objected to proposed parenting classes and wanted Jolie to undergo psychological counseling.

In recent months, a court-appointed parenting coordinator was removed after Pitt's legal team complained, forcing the judge to seek a new expert.

On Dec. 18, the judge ordered Pitt to have no physical contact with his children until a Jan. 9 probation review hearing. The order came after Pitt's attorneys asked a judge to remove Jolie's restraining order that prevents him from hugging, kissing and cuddling with his children or from holding them and sitting or lying next to them, as well as from engaging in rough housing or play fighting and prohibiting his participation in their sports games.