Can I Get Visitation Rights With My Niece? Lee Borden
Q.
I'm an aunt wanting visitation rights to my 2 year old niece; will I be able to and what would be the estimated cost?
-- Carolyn
A.
It's hard to articulate just how heavily the cards are stacked against you on this. As a non-parent, you have precious few rights. If all else fails, you can petition for visitation rights, but you'll probably need to show the natural parent to be unfit in some way, and that of course will make you and that parent forever on opposite sides of a wall of suspicion and animosity. You'll probably be more likely to succeed in spending meaningful time with your niece by working through the parent(s) than by working against them. Consider sending your niece a gift on her birthday and Christmas. Yes, the parent(s) can refuse to give it to her, but you've done what you can. Also, if you happen to know of public activities that your niece is doing, like dance, athletics, or music, you can go to those activities, staying at a discreet distance so as not to make things difficult for your niece. Later, when she gets old enough to make a phone call, get a toll-free number she can call; they're not expensive. That way, she can call you from school, from a friend's house, or from any other pay phone, and her parent(s) won't even need to know.
