Mama June Star Gains Custody of Granddaughter from Ex-Son-in-Law

Mama June, known legally as June Shannon, the star of the popular reality series Mama June: From Not To Hot, has recently won custody of her 12-year-old granddaughter, Kaitlyn Elizabeth Clark. This significant legal win occurred after an extensive custody dispute between Mama June and Michael Cardwell, the estranged husband of her daughter Anna “Chickadee” Cardwell.

Tragically, Anna passed away on December 9, 2023, at the age of 29 after a prolonged fight with stage 4 adrenal carcinoma. Given her health struggles, Mama June had advised Anna to establish a formal custody agreement prior to her death, as showcased in season 6 of Mama June: Family Crisis.

Michael Cardwell, who has another child with Anna, Kylee Madison (8), sought full custody of Kaitlyn. Typically, when a biological mother dies, custody is automatically given to the biological father. However, Anna had not disclosed the identity of Kaitlyn’s biological father, which allowed Mama June to take Kaitlyn home.

After a series of legal challenges and family disputes, the court ultimately sided with Mama June, awarding her sole custody of Kaitlyn.

The Complex Family Dynamics That Led Mama June to Seek Custody

June’s relationships with her daughters have been tumultuous, as extensively covered in various reality TV shows throughout the years. Mama June is also the mother of Alana Thompson, known as Honey Boo Boo, and has featured with her on the TLC program Toddlers and Tiaras.

The Shannon family subsequently starred in their own series Here Comes Honey Boo Boo, which aired from 2012 to 2017.

Prior to Anna’s passing, June had been caring for Kaitlyn for about a month, during which the courts had granted her temporary custody.

Michael did obtain custody of Kylee afterward; he had been under a visitation schedule since his divorce from Anna in 2017.

June also claimed that Michael had been abusive toward Anna during their relationship, asserting that it was in Kaitlyn’s best interest to continue living with her.

As reported in an article by People on September 22, a judge in Wilkinson County stated in the ruling that although Kaitlyn spent considerable time with Michael in 2023, he “never provided any significant financial support”for her.

Moreover, court documents indicated that a family therapist testified that Kaitlyn had “expressed a desire to stay”with her grandmother.

“Legal and physical custody of the minor child is to remain with the Defendant (Shannon) and Plaintiff (Michael) will have no right to visitation unless otherwise expressly agreed to by the parties and the minor child,” the judge wrote.

In his response, Michael claimed that Anna was raised by her maternal grandmother in Griffin, Georgia, rather than with June. Anna moved there around age eight and returned to live with June at age 17.

“Anna has had a very tumultuous relationship with her mother throughout her life and went through various periods without speaking to her. Likewise, June’s presence in Kaitlyn’s life has been inconsistent,” stated the court documents.

During season 6, episode 22 of Mama June: Family Crisis, which aired on June 21, 2024, archival footage showed that Anna wished for Kaitlyn to live with Eldridge Toney. Eldridge and Anna married in March 2023 shortly after her cancer diagnosis.

June and Anna had disagreements over this issue when Anna informed her mother of her wishes. In episode 24, Shannon shared that Eldridge had concluded that it would be in Kaitlyn’s best interests to live with Elizabeth.

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