Mother June Shannon Wins Custody of Anna Cardwell’s Daughter Kaitlyn

About a year later his daughter Anna “Chickadee” Cardwelldeath, Mother June Shannon he was legally granted custody of his granddaughter Kaitlyn.

According to court documents obtained by Us WeeklyA judge ruled in favor of Shannon, 45, on Friday, September 20, giving her full custody of the 12-year-old following a lengthy trial with Anna’s ex-husband, Michael Cardwell. (Connect he was the first to report the news.)

Michael — whose relationship with Anna began in 2013, when Kaitlyn was 8 months old — filed to regain visitation and custody of the unborn child after Anna’s death in December 2023. In response to his request, Shannon filed her own “ex parte” and gave Kaitlyn a temporary license later that month.

At the time, Shannon noted in her cell that the identity of Kaitlyn’s father was “unknown,” saying it was in her granddaughter’s best interest to continue living with her.

Anna and Michael also have an 8-year-old daughter, Kylee. In Friday’s decision, the judge found that Michael “never provided significant financial support” to Kaitlyn, even though he lived with her “for about five weeks at a time this past year.”

The family therapist also admitted that Kaitlyn expressed “fear” about being “taken away” from her grandmother and expressed a “desire to stay” with Shannon, according to the doctor.

Michael previously said in his petition that he believed Anna’s two daughters should not be separated, saying Shannon had a bad relationship with his older daughter. Shannon, on the other hand, said that Michael “physically abused Anna” while they were married from 2014 to 2017. Both parties reportedly denied the allegations against them.

According to the judge’s latest decision, Michael “shall not have the right to such visitation, unless otherwise agreed upon by the parties and the minor child.”

Anna was diagnosed with stage IV adrenal carcinoma in January 2023, and Shannon stayed by her daughter’s side throughout her health battle. July 2023, Shannon said Entertainment Tonight that Anna’s cancer was fatal. He died less than six months later at the age of 29.

“With a broken heart, we announce that @annamarie35 is no longer with us,” Shannon wrote on Instagram in December 2023. “She passed away peacefully at my home last night at 11:12 PM. She fought hard for 10 months … We love you and continue to pray and think of our family who made this difficult time.”

Before she was granted legal custody, Shannon spoke to her alone Us about the responsibility of raising Anna’s child. (Shannon is also a mother of daughters Jessica27, Lauryn24, too Allan19.)

“I’m going to say at the end of the day, I shouldn’t be raising Kaitlyn and Michael shouldn’t be raising Kylee and he should be here raising his girls, time for nothing,” Shannon said. Us in June, noting that discussing who would take over as guardian was “the hardest conversation” he and Anna had.

Shannon explained that she wished Anna was still around to take care of her children, adding, “That life is not good for girls. Definitely not.”

At the time of her death, Anna was married Eldridge Toneystarted dating him in 2017. They tied the knot in March 2023 after learning of Anna’s illness.