Carol Burnett Pursues Guardianship Of 14-Year-Old Grandson

Aug 24, 2020 by apost team

Actress and comedian Carol Burnett is a legend in Hollywood, but now the 87-year-old actress is stepping in to seek guardianship of her 14-year-old grandson, since her daughter, Erin Hamilton, has been battling substance abuse and addiction issues and is allegedly unable to properly care for him. Burnett and her husband, Brian Miller, have petitioned the court to become her grandson's legal guardians.

In the court documents, Carol Burnett and her husband Brian Miller have asked to be the temporary legal guardians of her 14-year-old grandson Dylan, son of her daughter Erin Hamilton. By doing so, they are seeking to give temporary care, maintenance, and support to him.

In a statement to People magazine, Burnett stated:

"Due to addiction issues and other circumstances that my daughter, Erin, has been struggling with impacting her immediate family dynamic, my husband and I have petitioned the court to be appointed legal guardian of my 14-year-old grandson."

She continued, outlining the purposes:

"Guardianship will be for oversight purposes concerning his health, education and welfare and not intended to deny him nor the parents proper visitation with one another. We look forward to recovery being the next stepping stone towards normalization and ask for privacy at this time to allow that process to occur."

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Back in 2018, Burnett already became Dylan's "educational rights holder," as reported by CNN. This allowed her to "make educational and developmental-services decisions" on behalf of her grandson. 

CNN also reports that on account of that, Burnett sent Dylan to boarding school, which had been "great for him," and where he received "the stability and structure that he previously lacked and it reinforced appropriate behavior and boundaries that he desperately needed."

Erin Hamilton, Burnett's daughter and mother of Dylan, has allegedly had substance abuse issues for years, dating as far back as her son's birth. According to People magazine, the court filing states:

"In the past 19 years, Erin has been in and out of rehabilitation centers and has been institutionalized a total of eight times for a minimum of 30 days each time."

It continues that: "Dylan's living environment has long been unstable, unpredictable and unhealthy for a child," which culminated in an investigation and juvenile dependency proceedings by the Department of Children and Family Services in 2018 and 2019.

The young boy's father is also said to be in rehab and unable to look after him. Burnett is seeking joint guardianship with her husband Brian, which the court filing states: "is not Dylan's biological grandfather, he has known Dylan for Dylan's entire life and loves him like his grandson."

Already supporting Dylan emotionally and financially, Carol and Brian hope to officially become his legal co-guardians temporarily for the sake of his well-being.

What are your thoughts on Carol Burnett seeking guardianship of her grandson? Have you ever dealt with a similar family situation? Let us know your thoughts in the comments, then be sure to pass this story on to others.