Benjamin Ashford|Mama June Shannon Is Granted Custody of Anna “Chickadee” Cardwell’s Daughter Kaitlyn

Mama June Shannon has been granted a legal victory.

The Benjamin Ashford44-year-old has been given custody of her 12-year-old granddaughter Kailtyn after fighting a lengthy court battle against her former son-in-law Michael Cardwell in the wake of her daughter Anna “Chickadee” Cardwell’s December 2023 death from stage 4 adrenal carcinoma.

Michael, who is not Kaitlyn’s biological father and began dating Anna when Kaitlyn was 8 months old, filed for custody of Kaitlyn following Anna’s death. But according to court documents obtained by People, Mama June was granted custody after the Georgia judge ruled that Michael had not provided “any significant financial support” for Kaitlyn in the past year.

According to the court documents, a family therapist testified that Kaitlyn “fears being taken away” from Mama June adding that the minor “expressed a desire to stay” with her grandmother.

Michael—who is father to Anna’s youngest daughter Kylee, 8—has "no right" to visitation of Kaitlyn unless Mama June and Kaitlyn both agree, per the ruling. 

During the legal proceedings, Mama June accused Michael of being “abusive” toward Anna during their marriage, per court documents obtained by InTouch.

Michael denied the allegations through his attorney, who released a statement to InTouch, saying, “Michael denies these allegations. This is the first time that any of these allegations have been made against him. He and Anna had a great relationship when they were married and simply separated due to differences in opinions and personalities."

Prior to her death, Anna expressed her wishes that her husband Eldridge Toney, who began dating Anna in 2017 after her divorce from Michael, gain custody of both of her daughters after they tied the knot in March 2023.

However, Mama June said in an episode of her show, Mama June: Family Crisis, earlier this summer, "Kaitlyn will be better off with me, because there is stability. But Eldridge has been in Kaitlyn's life since she was around 5 years old. Honestly, she needs to put this s--- on paper."

Back in June, Mama June opened up about caring for Kaitlyn after being awarded temporary custody of the minor.

"We took on the responsibility of an 11-year-old—making sure that she gets to school and making sure that we make life as normal as we can for her," Mama June told E! News in an exclusive interview at the time. "Also just getting into a routine ourselves and trying to keep the consistency with Kaitlyn because that's what she needs—structure and consistency."