Following the death of her daughterAnna “Chickadee” Cardwellafter a long battle with stage 4 adrenal carcinoma, reality starMama June Shannon is currently embroiled in a legal controversy surrounding one of her grandchildren. Chickadee left behind her husband,Michael Cardwell,and two children after passing away at the age of 29. And now, her eldest daughterKaitlyn Elizabeth’s custody is in question. InMama June: Family CrisisSeason 6, the audience got to see the family bid farewell to Chickadee. However, before she passed away, Mama June tried to convince her to put a formal custody agreement in place for Kaitlyn, considering that the identity of her father remains unknown to this day.
Chickadee has two daughters, Kaitlyn Elizabeth, 11, andKylee Madison Cardwell, 8, whom she shares with her husband. After her death, Chickadee’s youngest daughter has been living with her father, Michael Cardwell. Legally, thecustody of a minor is awarded to the biological fatherby default in the case of the biological mother passing away. However, since Chickadee never revealed the identity of her firstborn’s father, the situation has gotten a little complicated. While Mama June Shannon reportedly took Kaitlyn Elizabeth in after her daughter’s death,Michael Cardwellhas filed a lawsuit against her for Kaitlyn’s custody. This has led to a full-blown legal battle between the two parties, with the fate of the young girl hanging in the air.
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The series returns to explore the intense personal and legal challenges facing Mama June and her family. Amidst the chaos, her daughters confront their own dilemmas about loyalty, forgiveness, and self-preservation. The family’s bonds are tested as they navigate the complex landscape of public scrutiny and private pain, highlighting the harsh realities of celebrity and adversity.
Cardwell Believes He Is the Only Living Person Who Cares About the Child’s Well-Being
A few days after Chickadee’s death on August 21, 2025,the court granted Shannon temporary custody of her granddaughter. Thecourt documents also statedthat Shannon was seeking “temporary and permanent sole physical and sole legal custody” of the young girl.The reality momclaimed that her granddaughter moved in with her a month before Anna Cardwell passed away and that she has been caring for the tween since then. However, that didn’t last for very long, since on August 15, 2025, Michael Cardwell filed a lawsuit against Mama June for the young girl’s custody.
According to the court documentsobtained byIn Touch, Cardwell claimed that he had been a part of Kaitlyn Elizabeth’s life for a long time. Their relationship continued even after Cardwell and Chickadee’s divorce and Cardwell argued that he has “fully and completely undertaken a permanent, equivocal, committed and responsible parental role” in Kaitlyn Elizabeth’s life, establishing a bond with her. Cardwell also revealed that he wasstill paying for the young girl’s schooling and has been her caretaker for a while now.
He concluded that he was the “only living person that has shown a constant and continuous interest in the minor child’s well-being,” adding that he wanted both the sisters to continue living together. According to the documents, Mama June was served the notice on June 12, 2025. However,she spoke toTMZand claimed that she hadn’t received any legal papers. At the same time,Shannon vowed to see Cardwell in court and said that she was ready to battle it out with him.
Chickadee and Mama June’s Strained Relationship Complicates the Situation
But what took people by surprise was Cardwell’s surprising revelations about the strained relationship between Mama June and Chickadee. Anna Cardwell’s former husband shared thatthe former reality starwas raised by her maternal grandmother in Griffin and thatChickadee only returned to Mama June’s home when she was 17.The court documents detail their relationship in these exact words: “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.”
Rumor has it that Cardwell is also planning on bringingMama June’s ex,Mike ‘Sugar Bear’ Thompson,to testify against her in court. The two split up in 2014, but Sugar Bear continued to appear on Shannon’s WeTV shows. Sugar Bear was Anna Cardwell’s stepdad for a while and allegedly witnessed her fractured relationship with Shannon. According to an insider who spoke toThe Ashley’s Reality Roundup,Sugar Bear will testify about the long periods of estrangement between Chickadee and Mama Juneto prove that she is not fit to raise Kaitlyn Elizabeth.
Mama June Claims Cardwell Abused Her Granddaughter in the Past
Shannon also claimed that the minor wants to live with her and her husband,Justin Stroud,and forcing a change in custody would be going against her wishes. The reality mom also claimed that Anna Cardwell wanted her daughter to live with her grandmother and added that Michael Cardwell knew of this plan beforehand. “At the end of the day, the girls have lost their mother so why put them through this,” Mama June added, trying to fortify her side of the argument. In a turn of events,she was granted emergency temporary custody of the young girl in January 2024 over Cardwell, who claimed that he was ready to pursue the case even further.
But that’s where things took a horrific turn. In the same month,In Touchreported thatMama June had filed a lawsuit and accused Cardwell of physically abusing Chickadee while they were married. Shannon claimed that Cardwell was an unsuitable guardian for her granddaughter and added that his abuse would often also extend to Kaitlyn Elizabeth. In the filing, Mama June also asked for Cardwell’s petition to be denied and dismissed. However, in response, Cardwell’s attorney,Donald Lewis Roberts,denied the claims against his client. He shared that Cardwell had a great relationship with Chickadee and the two of them only separated due to differences in personalities.
DuringMama June: Family CrisisSeason 6, Episode 22, which aired on June 17, 2025, Anna Cardwell revealed what she wanted for her daughters after she passed away. The former reality star confessed thatshe wanted her firstborn to go to Eldrige Toney, whom she had married in March 2023, right after her cancer diagnosis. While Toney wasn’t the biological father of either child, Chickadee wanted him to get custody of Kaitlyn Elizabeth.
Anna Cardwell claimed that she knew Toney could do it, and that she just needed to push him to take on the responsibility. However, in the same episode, she is seen arguing with Mama June Shannon about her decision. During the argument,Shannon claims that the young girl would be better off with her since she could give her stability.However, since Eldridge Toney had been in the child’s life since she was five years old, Chickadee thought he was the better choice. But of course, Mama June had her doubts.
Following Chickadee’s death, duringMama June: Family CrisisSeason 6, Episode 24, Shannon revealed that Toney had come to the decision that the Kaitlyn Elizabeth would be better off with her grandmother. Not to mention that Toney had no legal claim on the young girl since he had not adopted her. Inan interview withPeople, Toney shared that he was going to remain an important part of both the girls’ lives. He revealed thathe has continued to visit both of them as much as he can. But it’s easier for him to see Kaitlyn Elizabeth since she continues to live with Mama June, while it’s harder for him to see Chickadee’s younger daughter as she lives with her father.
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Kaitlyn Elizabeth Has Announced Her Decision to the Court
After all this, the custody battle took a new turn when Anna Cardwell’s 11-year-old daughter filed an affidavit in court and revealed that she wants to live with her grandmother. The young girlexpressed her desire to live with Mama Juneandrequested not to be forced to have visitation with Michael Cardwell.The minor added that she wished to speak to the judge to let him know of her wishes as soon as possible. Mama June supported her granddaughter’s decision and also requested an “in-camera review” from the Department of Family and Children Services after claiming that Cardwell abused the minor.
Legally, minors involved in a custody battlehave the right to select who they want to live with when they are 14 or olderin the state of Georgia. However, since Kaitlyn Elizabeth is only 11, she can only file an election in court to express who she prefers to live with. Now, during the custody hearing, her statement will be presented to the judge before a final decision is made.
Mama June and Michael Cardwell were scheduled to return to court in July 2024. However, no recent updates on the case have been filed yet.
Mama June: Family Crisisis available to stream on Philo in the U.S.
