Mama June Shannon has won a custody battle over her late daughter Anna Cardwell’s eldest child, Kaitlyn.
The reality TV star, 44, was granted temporary custody of Kaitlyn, 11, over Anna’s ex-husband, Michael Cardwell, Us Weekly can confirm. In the custody filing, which was granted on December 19, 2023, Shannon confirmed that the identity of Kaitlyn’s biological father remains “unknown” and claimed it would be in her granddaughter’s best interest to continue living with her as she has been since Anna died at age 29 from stage IV cancer in December 2023.
“[Shannon] is not aware of any person not a party to this case who has physical custody of the child of claims to have custody or visitation rights with respect to the child,” read court documents obtained by Us. “[Shannon] is not aware of any other actions involving custody of the child pending in this or any other state.”
In addition to being granted temporary custody, Shannon also asked the court for a Rule Nisi to be issued, meaning the court order will become final unless the court is given reason for it to be changed.
June filed her “emergency ex parte” on December 15, 2023. Multiple outlets reported that she did so in response to Michael filing his own petition for custody following Anna’s death last month.
Michael, who was married to Anna from 2014 to 2017, reportedly claimed in his filing that he and Kaitlyn have built a connection over the years, despite the fact that he is not her biological father. Michael is the father of Anna’s youngest child, daughter Kylee, now 8, whom she welcomed in December 2015.
He also cited Anna and Shannon’s strained relationship as backup for his claim, stating that Shannon’s relationships with her daughter and granddaughter were not consistent. (Shannon is also a mother to daughters Jessica, 27, Lauryn, 23, and Alana, 18.)
Shannon, for her part, stood by Anna’s side throughout her cancer journey. In May 2023, she exclusively told Us that she didn’t “know how to deal” with watching her daughter’s health struggles, adding, “I can just imagine, like, if I’m feeling that way as her mom, how she’s feeling that her way as a person who is having to live with it day in, day out.”
Two months later, Shannon broke the news that Anna’s cancer was terminal. “She’s not gonna go into remission,” she told Entertainment Tonight at the time. “We’ve all accepted that, so I just tell people one day at a time ’cause you never know.”
One day before Anna’s death, Shannon asked fans for their “continued prayers” as Anna’s condition worsened. “As we are going through this transition, we are asking for continued prayers for Anna, continued prayers for the family, continued thoughts and appreciation even though we’re not responding to your messages,” she stated in a social media video.
Shannon, who recently revealed she’s been “straight sober” for three years, announced Anna’s death on December 10, 2023. “She gave one hell of a fight for 10 months she passed away with her family around her like she [wanted] and we will be updating y’all with more information as we get it today,” she wrote via Instagram. “We love y’all and continued prayers and thoughts for our family during this difficult time.”
Days later, Us confirmed that Anna had tied the knot with her boyfriend, Eldridge Toney, prior to her death. She was laid to rest during a Georgia funeral on December 13, 2023.
Anna’s daughters remained her priority in her final days as Toney told People it was her dying wish “for her girls to grow up knowing who their mother was.” He added: “And I promised I would do right by the girls always. I will spend my life doing right by Anna and the girls.”
