June ‘Mama June’ Shannon is facing a lawsuit from Michael Cardwell, the ex-husband of her late daughter Anna ‘Chickadee’ Cardwell, over custody of Chickadee’s 11-year-old daughter Kaitlyn.
Following Chickadee’s death at 29 on December 9 after a battle with cancer, Michael – who is father to Chickadee’s eight-year-old daughter Kylee – sued Mama June, 44, for custody of Kaitlyn, Chickadee’s older daughter from a prior relationship, The Sun reported after reviewing legal documents.
Michael, who received full custody of Kylee in the wake of Chickadee’s death, said in court docs that he’s ‘fully and completely undertaken a permanent, unequivocal, committed, and responsible parental role’ in Kaitlyn’s life.
Michael told the court that he’s ‘engaged in consistent caretaking of the child and established a bonded and dependent relationship with the child.’
Michael said Chickadee ‘fostered and supported’ him forming an ‘independent relationship’ with Kaitlyn in spite of the fact that he wasn’t her biological father, following his 2017 breakup with Chickadee.
June ‘Mama June’ Shannon is facing a lawsuit from Michael Cardwell, the ex-husband of her late daughter Anna ‘Chickadee’ Cardwell, over custody of Chickadee’s 11-year-old daughter Kaitlyn
Chickadee died at 29 on December 9 after a battle with cancer, leaving behind two children
Michael said in court docs, ‘Both petitioner and parent understood, acknowledged, accepted and behaved as though the petitioner is a parent of the child and accepted full and permanent responsibilities as a parent of the child without expectation of financial compensation.’
Michael told the court that Caleb Clark, the man believed to be Kaitlyn’s biological father – he has never taken a DNA test proving such, Michael said – has not been involved in Kaitlyn’s life and has no legal claim in the wake of Chickadee’s passing.
Michael pointed to an inconsistent relationship between Mama June – who was purportedly served with papers Sunday, The Sun reported – and Chickadee and her children.
‘Anna has had a very sordid relationship with her mother throughout her life and went various periods of time without speaking to her,’ Michael told the court. ‘Likewise, June’s presence in the minor child’s life has been inconsistent.’
Michael noted that Chickadee had ‘been raised by her maternal grandmother in Griffin, Georgia since she was approximately eight years old and only returned to the home of June Shannon when she was 17.’
Michael said that he has covered Kaitlyn’s educational expenses and ‘has been a stable and consistent part of the minor child’s life since she was eight-months-old.’
Michael, who was wed to Chickadee from 2014-2017, said that he’s ‘continued to’ care for Kaitlyn ‘even after years from his divorce from Anna.’
He said that following Chickadee’s death he’s ‘the only living person that has shown a constant and continuous interest’ in Kaitlyn’s well-being, and it’s in her best interest if he’s awarded custody.
The reality television personality was mother to two daughters, Kaitlyn, 11, and Kylee, eight
Chickadee, pictured with her daughters, died at 29 on December 9 after a battle with cancer
Mama June took to Instagram earlier this month to share the sad news of her daughter’s passing
Michael, who was wed to Chickadee from 2014-2017, said that he’s ‘continued to’ care for Kaitlyn ‘even after years from his divorce from Anna’
Mama June on Monday told TMZ that she plans on opposing Michael in his legal efforts, and that she ‘can see him in court’ as she seeks to become Kaitlyn’s legal guardian
Mama June on Monday told TMZ that she plans on opposing Michael in his legal efforts, and that she ‘can see him in court’ as she seeks to become Kaitlyn’s legal guardian.
Mama June told the outlet that Kaitlyn would rather remain with her and her spouse, Justin Stroud, and granting Michael custody of the child ‘would be going against her wishes.’
Mama June told TMZ that Chickadee wanted Kaitlyn to live with her, and Michael understood that prior to her passing.
‘At the end of the day, the girls have lost their mother so why put them through this,’ she told the outlet.
Mama June said in a statement on Instagram that Chickadee had died ‘with her family around her’ December 9.
‘With the breaking heart, we are announcing that @annamarie35 is no longer with us,’ Mama June said. ‘She passed away in my home last night peacefully at 11:12 PM. She gave one hell of a fight for 10 months.’
Chickadee’s sister Alana ‘Honey Boo Boo’ Thompson, 18, remembered her sibling: ‘Anna was in so much pain last night but now as a family we all know she is at peace now. I really don’t know what to say as my heart is completely broken.’
