After a prolonged legal battle with her former son-in-law Michael Cardwell, Mama June Shannon has now secured custody of her granddaughter, Kaitlyn, who is Anna “Chickadee” Cardwell’s daughter.
Documents revealed that a Georgia judge granted full custody of the 12-year-old to Shannon on September 20. This news was first reported by InTouch and later confirmed by PEOPLE.
The court’s decision awarded Shannon permanent custody of Kaitlyn. Michael, despite not being Kaitlyn’s biological father, had filed for custody and visitation rights in December 2023. He began his relationship with Anna in 2013 when Kaitlyn was just eight months old.
Shannon had been granted temporary custody earlier in 2024 while the case was ongoing following Anna’s passing in December 2023
Anna passed away at 29 on December 9, 2023, after being diagnosed with stage 4 adrenal carcinoma. She is survived by Kaitlyn, who was born from a prior relationship, and 8-year-old Kylee, whom she had with Michael.
The ruling detailed that although Kaitlyn had spent time with her sister Kylee and stayed with Michael for extended periods, he did not provide financial support for Kaitlyn during this time.
A family therapist’s testimony noted that Kaitlyn expressed a fear of being separated from Shannon and showed a clear preference to stay with her grandmother.
The judge ordered that legal and physical custody of Kaitlyn would remain with Shannon, and Michael would not have visitation rights unless mutually agreed upon by all parties involved, including Kaitlyn.
Earlier in 2024, Shannon had already been granted temporary custody of Kaitlyn while the case was ongoing, as reported by InTouch.
Michael’s initial argument for custody focused on not separating Anna’s daughters and raised concerns over Shannon’s relationship with Anna. Shannon, in her own filings, claimed that Michael had been abusive during his marriage to Anna and that Kaitlyn’s well-being would be best served by staying with her.
Michael’s legal team denied the allegations of abuse, stating that this was the first time such accusations had been made and that their marriage had ended due to personality conflicts rather than abuse.
Shannon has been vocal about her desire to care for Kaitlyn, even before Anna’s passing. In a June 2024 episode of Mama June: Family Crisis, she voiced concerns about separating Kylee and Kaitlyn while Anna was undergoing treatment for cancer.
In the same episode, Shannon emphasized the importance of Kaitlyn having stability and shared her belief that Kaitlyn would thrive with her. However, Anna had expressed a wish for her husband Eldridge Toney, who had been in Kaitlyn’s life since she was five, to take custody of both daughters.
Shannon urged Anna to formalize her intentions legally. After Anna’s divorce from Michael, she began dating Toney in 2017, and the two were married in March 2023, shortly after Anna received her cancer diagnosis.
