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Mama June Demands Custody of Granddaughter Kaitlyn 1 Day After Anna’s Ex Michael Files Lawsuit
June “Mama June” Shannon demanded that she get permanent custody of her granddaughter Kailtlyn after just one day after her late daughter Anna Cardwell’s ex Michael Cardwell sued her for custody.
The mother of four, 44, filed a petition asking for permanent sole legal and sole physical custody of Kaitlyn, 11, in a Georgia court on Monday, December 18, according to documents obtained by In Touch. June – who was awarded emergency guardianship of Kaitlyn on December 15 – filed the paperwork one week after Anna died from adrenal cancer on December 9.
June argued that she is the best person to take care of her granddaughter moving forward. “Since the mother’s passing, child has remained in the care, custody and control of Petitioner,” she stated in the filing. “Petitioner previously had temporary guardianship of the child. More recently, approximately one month before passing, the mother and child began residing with Petitioner. ”
June added that she is “not aware of any interested parties other than herself that would have standing to seek custody of the child.”
She made the claims just one day after Michael, 30, filed his own paperwork asking for custody of Kaitlyn on December 17, which was obtained by In Touch. He alleged that Kaitlyn’s biological father is a man named Caleb Clark. However, Michael alleged that the man never took a DNA test and was not involved in Anna or Kaitlyn’s lives.
Michael argued that he had “fully and completely undertaken a permanent, unequivocal, committed, and responsible parental role” in Kaitlyn’s life, adding that he had “engaged in consistent caretaking of the child and established a bonded and dependent relationship with the child.”
In addition to helping raise Kaitlyn, he is the father to Anna’s youngest daughter, Kylee, 8.
Michael – who received custody of their daughter after Anna’s death – added in the paperwork that his visitation schedule following his divorce from Anna included time with both Kaitlyn and Kylee. He also claimed that he is still paying for Kaitlyn’s education.
Not only did Michael argue that he is a father figure for Kaitlyn, but also noted that Anna had a strained relationship with June.
“Anna has been raised by her maternal grandmother in Griffin, Georgia, since she was approximately 8 years old and only returned to the home of June Shannon when she was 17,” he said in the legal documents. “Anna has had a very sordid relationship with her mother throughout her life and went various periods of time without speaking to her. Likewise, June’s presence in the minor child’s life has been inconsistent.”
the petition concluded with Michael stating that he “is the only living person that has shown a constant and continuous interest in the minor child’s well-being, and being in the custody of the petitioner will be in the child’s best interest.”
After June was served with the paperwork on December 17, she told TMZ that she would “see [Michael] in court” and said that Kaitlyn wanted to stay with her and her husband, Justin Stroud. June also said Anna intended for Kaitlyn to stay with her.
“At the end of the day, the girls have lost their mother so why put them through this,” the Mama June: From Not to Hot star concluded.
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