The issue here between these two folks -- if there's going to be an issue -- is going to have to be with the custody of their kids," he said.
In her filing, Jolie does not ask for spousal or child support.
Related: Angelina Jolie's famous divorce attorney
Jolie is represented in this case by Laura Wasser, who was also her attorney during her split Billy Bob Thornton, according to a Bloomberg profile. Her other clients have included Gwen Stefani, Jennifer Garner, and Britney Spears.
In many high-profile celebrity divorces, the terms of the split are negotiated prior to filing official documents in order to preserve discretion. This was the case when Wasser arranged the 2014 divorce of client Melanie Griffith and then-husband Antonio Banderas, according to Bloomberg.
But Hersh said Jolie's "limiting" custody request indicates that was not the case here.
"That would tend to indicate to me that there's going to be contentious aspects of this and that it was not completely pre-packaged, if at all," he said.
"I am very saddened by this, but what matters most now is the wellbeing of our kids," Pitt said in a statement to CNN on Tuesday. "I kindly ask the press to give them the space they deserve during this challenging time."
A representative of Jolie indicated she shares Pitt's desire to keep their children out of the media spotlight.
"This decision was made for the health of the family," Robert Offer, an attorney for Jolie told CNN in a statement Tuesday. "She will not be commenting at this time, and asks that the family be given their privacy during this difficult time."