Mama June Shannon wins custody of granddaughter Kaitlyn, 12, in legal battle against her late daughter Anna Toney’s ex-husband Michael Cardwell
‘Mama’ June Shannon was awarded legal and physical custody of her grieving 12-year-old granddaughter Kaitlyn Elizabeth Shannon by a Georgia judge last Friday in her legal battle against Michael Cardwell, the ex-husband of her late daughter Anna “Chickadee” Toney.
The 24-year-old fisherman, who was married to Anna from 2014 to 2017, has legal and physical custody of their eight-year-old daughter Kylee Madison Cardwell and is adamant that the half-sisters should not be separated.
In his ruling, the judge noted that Michael “has never provided any significant financial support to this child,” who testified during a July hearing that she wanted to continue living with the 45-year-old grandmother of four — according to In contact weekly.
Kaitlyn’s therapist also testified that she feared being taken away from June, who had temporary custody of her since Toney lost her 10-month battle with stage 4 adrenal cancer on December 9 at age 29.
In her legal documents, Shannon alleged that Cardwell “regularly physically abused Anna and the child” during their marriage, which he strongly denied, saying they “simply separated due to differences in opinions and personalities.”
‘Mama’ June Shannon was awarded legal and physical custody of her grieving 12-year-old granddaughter Kaitlyn Elizabeth Shannon by a Georgia judge last Friday in her legal battle against Michael Cardwell, the ex-husband of her late daughter Anna ‘Chickadee’ Toney.
The 24-year-old fisherman (left, pictured May 7) — who was married to Anna from 2014 to 2017 — has legal and physical custody of their eight-year-old daughter Kylee Madison Cardwell (2-R), and he was adamant the half-sisters should not be separated.
‘[Michael] is not entitled to visitation rights as such, unless otherwise agreed by the parties and the minor child,’ the judge wrote in his ruling.
On the June 21 episode of the reality series Mama June: Family Crisis on We TV, Anna stated that she wanted Kaitlyn (her biological father was reportedly her high school sweetheart Caleb Clark) to “go home to” her second husband Eldridge Toney, whom she married last year.
Shannon lost custody of her 19-year-old daughter Alana “Honey Boo Boo” Thompson to her 24-year-old daughter Lauryn “Pumpkin” Efird in 2019 after she was arrested for possession of a controlled substance (crack cocaine) and drug paraphernalia.
“Some people feel like I don’t deserve or need Kaitlyn because I voluntarily gave up custody of Alana,” the former warehouse worker explained on the June 14 episode.
“My life has been a crazy rollercoaster, but I’ve also been clean for four years. I’m doing great with my life. I’m back on track and I will testify against anyone who says I don’t deserve Kaitlyn, including my own children.”
On April 26, Kaitlyn proudly wore a necklace containing her late mother’s remains to a high school prom.
Because “Anna did not want to rot in the ground,” June had some of her cremated remains placed in a heart-shaped charm on a bracelet and other jewelry as a keepsake for her family.
“It has her fingerprint on it and her ashes on it,” Shannon explained via TikTok‘because Anna wanted us to take her everywhere and that’s what we do.’
June was only 15 when she welcomed Toney, who was first introduced to the public on the TLC series Toddlers and Tiaras.
Shannon’s spin-off Here Comes Honey Boo Boo was canceled by the cable network in 2014 after four seasons due to Shannon’s then-boyfriend Mark McDaniel, who was convicted of sexually abusing Anna.
In his ruling, the judge noted that Michael (pictured July 8) “has never provided any significant financial support to this child,” testifying at a July hearing that she wanted to continue living with the 45-year-old grandmother of four.
Kaitlyn’s therapist also testified that she feared being taken away from June, who had temporary custody since Toney (left, pictured in 2023) tragically lost her 10-month battle with stage four adrenal cancer on Dec. 9 at age 29.
On the June 21 episode of We TV’s reality series Mama June: Family Crisis, Anna stated that she wanted Kaitlyn (whose biological father was reportedly her high school sweetheart Caleb Clark) to “go home to” her second husband Eldridge Toney (R), whom she married last year.
Shannon infamously lost custody of her 19-year-old daughter Alana “Honey Boo Boo” Thompson to her 24-year-old daughter Lauryn “Pumpkin” Efird following her 2019 arrest for possession of a controlled substance and drug paraphernalia (Photo September 14)
The former warehouse worker explained on the June 14 episode, “Some people think I don’t deserve or need Kaitlyn because I voluntarily gave up custody of Alana. My life has been a crazy rollercoaster, but I’ve also been clean for four years. I’m doing great with my life. I’m back on track and I will testify against anyone who says I don’t deserve Kaitlyn, including my own children.”
On April 26, Kaitlyn proudly wore a necklace featuring her late mother’s remains to a high school prom
Because ‘Anna did not want to rot in the ground’, June had a portion of her cremated remains placed in a heart-shaped charm on a bracelet and other such jewelry as a keepsake for her family
“It has her fingerprint on it and also her ashes,” Shannon explained via TikTok, “because Anna wanted us to take her everywhere and that’s what we do.”