How can I get my exwife to leave me alone? We have joint custody of our kids, so I have to talk to her occasionally, but I'd like to limit w...

Question

How can I get my exwife to leave me alone? We have joint custody of our kids, so I have to talk to her occasionally, but I'd like to limit what we talk about soley to the kids and things that pertain to their well being. She's a demanding person that's alway wanting something, and when she doesn't get what she wants she harrasses me and plays head games. How can I put a stop to this?

Answer

You have options, but every one of them comes with a cost. You could insist that all communications go through some neutral intermediary, either a personal acquaintance or a lawyer, or a service such as "Our Family Wizard"; if refused, you could ask the court to order that.

You could request that all communications be limited to child issues, backed up with a request for consent to tape all communications (and you don't need consent for face-to-face taping), with the same fall-back.

You could even ask to modify the custodial schedule to limit or eliminate inter-personal interaction.

All of these could lead to escalation, of course, or reprisals. So it all depends on how important it is to you, and what you are willing to do to resolve it.