June Shannon is officially, and sort of legally, a mama once again.
The reality star has gained custody of her late daughter Anna “Chickadee” Cardwell’s child Kaitlyn after a lengthy court battle with her former son-in-law, Michael Cardwell.
As you may recall, Anna passed away last December from cancer.
In the wake of this tragedy, a legal fight ensued between Shannon and Cardwell over the aforementioned 12-year old… with June claiming that Anna had wanted the young woman to live her with grandmother.
To be clear, we’ve never been told the identity of Kaitlyn’s biological father.
She was being raised by Anna and Michael at the time of the former’s passing, however.
“The Michael thing is about money, and Kaitlyn ain’t a money symbol. Kaitlyn wants to be raised by her biological family,” Shannon previously told The Sun.
According to court documents obtained by People Magazine, meanwhile, Shannon was awarded custody of her this 12-year old by Georgia judge on Friday, September 20.
The order states “legal and physical custody of the minor child is to remain with [Mama June] and [Michael] will have no right to visitation as such, unless otherwise agreed to by the parties and the minor child.”
Anna died at age 29 on December 9 following a diagnosis of stage 4 adrenal carcinoma.
She left behind Kaitlyn, whom she welcomed during a previous relationship, and 8-year-old daughter Kylee, whom she shared with Michael.
Michael will continue to raise Kylee.
A Wilkinson County judge wrote in the ruling late last week that while Kaitlyn did sometimes spend time with her sister Kylee while in Michael’s custody and stayed with him for as long as five weeks at a time this past year, “[Michael] never provided any significant financial support for this child [Kaitlyn].”
Moreover, the court papers state that a family therapist testified that Kaitlyn “fears being taken away from” Shannon and “expressed a desire to stay” with her grandmother.
At one point this year, Shannon alleged that Michael had been abusive to Anna during their marriage in her attempt to convince the court that Kaitlyn’s best interest was to continue living with her.
Michael’s lawyer fired back the abuse claims, telling In Touch Weekly:
“Michael denies these allegations. This is the first time that any of these allegations have been made against him. He and Anna had a great relationship when they were married and simply separated due to differences in opinions and personalities.”
Said Mama June after losing her daughter months ago, talking to followers on TikTok:
“My mind is so emotionally and mentally mindf-cked right now…
“My mental emotional sh-t is all out of whack.
“For the people who are all about negativity, don’t give them any of your energy and those people will rot in hell because they can’t say how they would act.
“One of the hardest things I’ve ever had a face of my whole entire life.”
