Hollywood icon Carol Burnett has gone through the court system to try and obtain legal guardianship of her grandson Dylan West. The Carol Burnett Show star wants to take him out of harm's way since his mother and father have been struggling with substance abuse issues and his mother's turmoil has only escalated as of late.
Carol Burnett Seeks Guardianship Of Her Grandson
87-year-old Carol Burnett is worried about her grandson Dylan West's safety so she has petitioned the court to obtain legal guardianship of the 14-year-old. Dylan's mother is Carol's daughter Erin Hamilton who has struggled with addiction issues that have drastically affected Dylan. In a statement to People, Carol said "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."
In her legal filing obtained by The Blast, Carol wrote "Throughout her adult life, and since Dylan's birth, Erin has suffered from severe substance abuse and addiction issues. 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. Dylan's living environment has long been unstable, unpredictable, and unhealthy for a child. This culminated in a Department of Children and Family Services (DCFS) investigation and juvenile dependency proceedings in 2018 and 2019."
It is clear Burnett is worried about her grandson, who was in the custody of Erin Hamilton when she attempted suicide in July and was placed on a 51/50 hold for "suicidality and drug use." According to Carol, Dylan's father is unable to take custody of him either because he recently checked himself into a rehab center. Carol simply cares about "his health, education, and welfare" and she does not intend "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."
Carol Burnett Opens Up About Daughter's Addiction Struggles
Carol Burnett has also been opening up recently about her late daughter Carrie's life after overcoming deep drug addiction. Apparently, Carrie lived life with beautiful positivity even up until the day she passed away from cancer at 38 years old 18 years ago. Burnett told AARP The Magazine that "My daughter Carrie got into drugs. In that situation, don't be their best friend. When we got her into a third rehab, oh, she hated my guts! You have to love them enough to let them hate you."
Luckily Carrie overcame her addiction issues and "got sober before her 18th birthday, and we had a good 20 years." Burnett reminisced saying "We were joined at the hip for a while there. Carrie died of cancer at 38. But in the hospital, she said, 'Every day I wake up and decide today I'm going to love my life.' And that was her mantra."
Hopefully, Carol Burnett gains guardianship of her beloved grandson Dylan while her daughter Erin Hamilton receives the help she needs to eventually reunite with her two sons.