Q: Can grandparents have visitation rights?
My niece lives in Florida and my parents(material grandparents) live in Tennessee. When my sister went to jail my niece's father allowed my niece to visit us every summer for about three weeks. When my sister was released she came to live with us and after that the communication between my niece's father and myself slowly dwindled and has now come to a halt. We text him often asking to speak to my niece and to eventually make plans for my niece to come visit but we do not receive a response. We advise him that when my niece is here my sister will not be(she'll probably stay with friends) as my sister has no interest in going to the courts and asserting her maternal rights. We believe she is falling back on old habits(bad men & drugs).
My question is this: do my parents as the maternal grandparents have any legal recourse to see my niece? We are not interested in taking custody away from the father.
My sister and my niece's father were never married.
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