June Shannon is officially, and sort of legally, a mother again.
The reality star has regained custody of her late daughter Anna “Chickadee” Cardwell’s baby Kaitlynn after a lengthy court battle with her former son-in-law Michael Cardwell.
As you may recall, Anna passed away from cancer last December.
Following the tragedy, a legal battle ensued between Shannon and Cardwell over the aforementioned 12-year-old girl … June claimed Anna wanted the girl to live with her grandmother.
To be clear, we’re never told the identity of Caitlin’s biological father.
However, he was being raised by Anna and Michael at the time of Anna’s passing.
Shannon previously told The Sun, “Michael’s issue is all about money and Kaitlyn is not the epitome of money. Kaitlyn wants to be raised by her biological family.”
Meanwhile, on Friday, September 20, a Georgia judge awarded Shannon custody of her 12-year-old son, according to court documents obtained by People magazine.
The order states that “the legal and physical custody of the minor child shall remain with her [Mama June] And [Michael] Unless otherwise agreed to by the parties and the minor child, he or she will have no visitation rights.
Anna died on December 9 at the age of 29 after being diagnosed with stage 4 adrenal carcinoma.
She leaves behind Kaitlynn, whom she welcomed during a previous relationship, and 8-year-old daughter Kylie, whom she shared with Michael.
Michael will continue to raise Kylie.
A Wilkinson County judge wrote in his ruling last weekend that Caitlin Did Sometimes while in Michael’s custody she spent time with her sister Kylie and once stayed with her for five weeks at a time last year,”[Michael] No significant financial support was ever provided for this child [Kaitlyn],
In addition, court documents state that a family therapist testified that Kaitlyn feared being taken away from Shanann and had expressed a desire to live with her grandmother.
At one point this year, Shannon alleged that Michael had abused Anna during their marriage in an attempt to convince the court that Kaitlyn’s best interest was to stay with him.
Michael’s lawyer refuted the abuse claims, telling In Touch Weekly:
“Michael denies these allegations. This is the first time these allegations have been made against him. He and Anna had a wonderful relationship while they were married, but they separated due to differences in opinions and personalities.”
Mama June spoke to followers on TikTok after losing her daughter a few months ago, saying:
“I am very emotionally and mentally disturbed at the moment…
“My mental emotional state has completely deteriorated.
“Don’t give your energy to people who are completely immersed in negativity, and they will rot in hell because they cannot tell how they will act.
“This is one of the hardest things I’ve faced in my life.”