How do I get visitation rights without being able to afford legal counsel?

The information you have given raises several very significant issues: 1) You say that you never received the divorce papers.  On that basis alone, it may be that what happened was wrong and should be addressed by the Family Court. 2) You say that your daughter is 5 years old and that you raised her for 4 years--yet you also say that you have been paying child support for the last 5 years.  Something does not make sense about that. 3) You say that you recently filed to stop your child support, because of your unemployment.  I hope that you filed all of the necessary papers in the proper form.  Even if you did, courts are very reluctant to relieve a parent from having to pay any child support--under any circumstances.  You need to make sure that you present the best case to the Court. 4) Last but definitely not least, re-establishing a continuing relationship with your daughter is one of the most important things you can ever do--both for you and for her.  I believe that the Court will support you on this desire.  Again, however, you need to make sure that you present the best case to the Court.   When people tell me that they cannot afford to have a lawyer represent them in Court, I suggest that they at least set up what I call an Assessment, so that I can review all of the relevant facts with them and give them suggestions for how to present the best case to the Court.  The cost of the Assessment is only $375 and I believe that it is well worth the "investment" given what is at stake.  To accommodate people who say that they cannot even pay that fee in a lump sum, we accept payment by credit card (VISA, MasterCard or American Express), which allows the client to make manageable monthly payments on his/her credit card. If you would like to take advantage of having an Assessment, please call us at 973-455-1220 to set up a mutually convenient date and time.  Please also take a look at our Firm Website (www.salvaggiolaw.net).  It contains a lot of helpful information. I wish you the best.   David F. Salvaggio, Esq., SALVAGGIO LAW GROUP LLC