I'm wondering what your take is on the issue we're currently having with my stepson's mom, with regards to communication.
Relevant info in a nutshell:
My husband sent her a kind email letting her know that he feels most comfortable with documented methods of communication, and that she is welcome to leave informative voicemails or send a brief email to which he will reply immediately.
She replied to his email in a telephone message stating that she will ONLY communicate "directly" face-to-face or voice-to-voice, and that she will NOT be leaving any informative telephone messages or corresponding via email.
She now feels she has the right to call any time of day or night to verbally discuss issues "live."
Her phone calls are getting very irritating, and her demands for undocumented communication worry us.
I hope someone can provide some good advice in this regard... as neither my husband nor I know what to do in this situation.
We know that she has alterior motives and that she is up to no good. (We know this by piecing together her recent communications and the things she has said/questioned.)
Any advice would be great!
Relevant info in a nutshell:
- My husband and my stepson's mom were never in a relationship; they have been raising their son separately since his birth.
- After several attempts to reach agreements through mediation and meetings with lawyers, ALL mediators (including a high-conflict mediator) advised the parties to communicate only in writing, via email, as it will hold them true to their word and prevent any disagreements and conflict.
- In 2007, a judge ordered that the 3 of us (my husband and I along with my stepson's mother) attend counselling to help us communicate more effectively. We attended, she did not want to attend with us. The counsellor suggested that we maintain written communication via email, and that we allow for one another to leave informative telelphone messages if email is not accessible.
- For over 4 years, written communication has been our saviour, as it held my stepson's mom true to her word (as best as it could) and drastically reduced any unilateral changes due to whims she tends to have.
- In the last 2 months, my stepson's mom has dug in her heels and is refusing to communicate in written form. (This scares us, because it makes us think that she is up to no good.)
- We have been welcoming her to leave informative telephone messages (which we record for documentation purposes). She has been leaving informative message, until just recently.
My husband sent her a kind email letting her know that he feels most comfortable with documented methods of communication, and that she is welcome to leave informative voicemails or send a brief email to which he will reply immediately.
She replied to his email in a telephone message stating that she will ONLY communicate "directly" face-to-face or voice-to-voice, and that she will NOT be leaving any informative telephone messages or corresponding via email.
She now feels she has the right to call any time of day or night to verbally discuss issues "live."
Her phone calls are getting very irritating, and her demands for undocumented communication worry us.
I hope someone can provide some good advice in this regard... as neither my husband nor I know what to do in this situation.
We know that she has alterior motives and that she is up to no good. (We know this by piecing together her recent communications and the things she has said/questioned.)
Any advice would be great!
Comment