Reply With QuoteI think Im right in saying there will be no legal right. Your best chance will be to persevere with the parent and hope She will do what’s right for everyone.
Well I think it would fall under the family law heading, before I head off and spend a pile of cash I was wondering if we had any family law experts on here?
My brother in law passed away a couple of years ago after a long fight with cancer, he was estranged from his wife with whom they had a daughter.
His wife didn’t get along with most of his family but an exception was my wife, the child’s auntie, recently all contact has dried up we have gone from being able to have the niece for periods of time and for family events etc, to no longer replying to our messages.
They moved last year and didn’t tell us however contact continued with collection and drop off being in a supermarket car park, we thought it was odd, but to be honest so was she.
My wife is really upset as she had a great relationship with her niece and my daughter does as well, up until now when contact has been halted, we have even contacted her new partner but heard nothing back.
Would my wife have any recourse to access/contact via the legal system? I’ve read conflicting advice.
I think Im right in saying there will be no legal right. Your best chance will be to persevere with the parent and hope She will do what’s right for everyone.
As above - no recourse in law in England or Scotland.
Suggest a personal approach through facebook with neice, with no accustions - just saying that she is missing her, and hope that there can continue to be a personal relationship.
If no reply - nothing lost in approaching her friends on the same basis.
Just my thoughts..............................
Disagree re no recourse in law, at least insofar as Scotland is concerned. In terms of s.11 of the Children (Scotland) Act 1995 the court has a wide discretion to make such order as it sees fit including
“an order regulating the arrangements for maintaining personal relations and direct contact between a child under [the age of 16] and a person with whom the child is not, or will not be, living (any such order being known as a “contact order”)”
It is not straightforward, but the interests of the child of the child are the paramount consideration for the court. Much would turn on the strength of relationship between the OP’s wife and her niece. As with all legal matters, advice should be sought from ideally a specialist solicitor rather than a random bloke on the internet.
I would agree that seeking agreement with the girl’s mother is preferable to invoking legal proceedings. That is not always an option.
If your wife feels strongly and isn’t having success informally, it is worthwhile seeking an initial consultation with a specialist. Initial consultation is usually free, but after that you’d be looking at £300 per hour and upwards. Legal Aid is still available in Scotland, but only if you are poor.
The legislation is similar in England, by I’m not qualified to advise on that.
Good luck!
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Here’s my opinion, based on personal experience of the family court and assuming you are in England or Wales and that there are no legal requirements for contact to continue, such as an entry in your brother in law’s will. Extended family members such as your wife, the child’s auntie, can make a C100 application for a Child Arrangement Order but before the application is made, your wife will need to have attempted mediation with the child’s mother. If things were moderately estranged before, I can think of no greater way to make them even more so than by indicating to a child’s parent that family law proceedings are in the offing. If the mother stops all contact and the home address isn’t known, one mechanism that is available is the C4 application to request that the court obtain and reveal the address of a child but it will be for the court to consider if it is appropriate for the address to be revealed, based on the reason provided by your wife and whether the court feels it is in the best interests of the child to do so. Again, if things were bad before, attempting to force the revelation of the address is likely to make things worse, even if court considered it appropriate, which it may not.
I firmly believe children should have a relationship with their wider family as this is where they have come from and a wide family circle helps the development of a child but once two people have separated, a different dynamic comes to the fore. If you and your wife feel strongly about maintaining contact with your niece, definitely obtain legal advice from a specialist in family law but be prepared to fall back on trying to keep a line of communication open with the mother and, if the niece is of an appropriate age, with the niece direct. There is likely to be all manner of emotions at play with the mother and it might just take a matter of time for her to reopen communication. It might also be that she is firmly resolved to sever all ties with her ex husband’s family. Unfortunately I feel there will be little you and your wife can do if that is the case.
I disagree with those saying there is no recourse.
Whilst your wife is not automatically entitled to apply for a child arrangements order, she is able to apply for permission to make such an application.
The court will consider the factors in s10(9) of the Children Act 1989 and decide whether she should be allowed to apply.
In my experience most requests for permission like this are granted. It’s then a case of the normal court process for a child arrangements application, the outcome of which will be less certain and based on the welfare checklist.
Assuming you’re not close to me I am probably not the best person to be instructed but am happy to talk through things with you or your wife if you want.
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Thanks for the glimmer of hope.
I've been on an emergency dash to see my son at uni hence the delay in replying.
The niece is 9 and doesn't have her own means of communication.
The brother in-law didn't have a will, so we paid for the funeral as it wasn't right to ask his wife after they became estranged.
Verbally she had agreed to us having contact whenever we wanted as long as the niece was free but has failed on multiple attempts and means to communicate.
My wife holds out more hope than I do that she will suddenly reply.
I could probably get the address but if I was caught I'd be in trouble and wouldn't look good if it went down a legal route which hopefully it won't.
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Originally Posted by blackal
