June “Mama June” Shannon must fight in court against her late daughter's ex-husband, Anna “Chickadee” Cardwell, for custody of Chickadee's 11-year-old daughter Kaitlyn.
Michael Cardwell filed a lawsuit against the “Mama June: From Not to Hot” reality star this week in a court in Wilkinson County, Georgia. Cardwell is not Kaitlyn's biological father — he came into her life when she was eight months old, he said — but still says he was a constant parental figure in her life.
Chickadee died on December 9th at the age of 29 after a battle with cancer. She was reportedly diagnosed with stage 4 adrenal carcinoma earlier this year. Cardwell, who married Chickadee in 2014 and separated from her in 2017, is the biological father of Chickadee's 8-year-old daughter Kylee. In court documents obtained by The Times, Cardwell claims that Kaitlyn's biological father was never involved in her life and refused a paternity test because he had no interest in being involved.
Cardwell, who gained sole custody of Kylee after Chickadee's death, claimed in court documents that he had “fully assumed a consistent, clear, committed and responsible parental role” in Kaitlyn's life. He said he “cared for the child consistently and developed an attachment and dependency relationship with the child.”
He further stated in the filing that Chickadee “encouraged and supported” him to pursue an “independent relationship” with Kaitlyn after their separation, even though he is not her biological father. According to legal documents, Cardwell had the same visitation agreement with Kaitlyn as he did with Kylee.
“Both the applicant and the parent have understood, acknowledged, accepted and behaved as if the applicant were a parent of the child and had assumed full and ongoing responsibility as a parent of the child, without expectation of financial compensation,” it said in the file.
Cardwell claimed Mama June and Chickadee's relationship was inconsistent. “Anna had a very poor relationship with her mother throughout her life and spent several periods without speaking to her,” the filing states. “Similarly, June’s presence in the minor child’s life was inconsistent.”
On Monday, Mama June told TMZ that she “can see him in court.” The reality TV star said Kaitlyn wants to stay with her and her husband Justin Stroud and insisted that gaining custody of Cardwell would “go against her wishes.”
“At the end of the day, the girls have lost their mother, so why should they do this to them,” she added.
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