United Kingdom, July 13 -- 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 Maddo...