Legal Question in Family Law in Kentucky
Childish Ex-husband
My wifes ex used to never want to see his daughter. He would go months without contacting her, mainly because he didn't have anyone to care for the child while he was at work. He recently got married and now wishes to take full advantage of his visitation rights. We have no problem with that. The issue is he is being childish in speaking with my wife about visitation issues and other concerns about the child. He is using his new wife to mediate between the two. My wife is getting very frustrated with this and it is causing more friction in the relationship. My question is, should he be allowed to use his new wife to be the go between? Or is there something we can do to make him be the one to talk to my wife about issues and visitation concerns? Please help!
1 Answer from Attorneys
Re: Childish Ex-husband
These are always issues. NEW SPOUSES ATTEMPTING TO SOLVE PROBLEMS. There is no "legal" answer to this. It is common for a "change" to occur upon remarriage. (1)the new spouse (usually a new wife) sides with the ex-husband because he was "done wrong" and he, being the gentle soul that he is, has been taken advantage of; (2) the new spouse is so dominated that they are forced to take a role for which they are not prepared, or (3)the new spouse is genuinely trying to help. I find that in a situation such as that your wife faces that it may be the best to establish a good relationship with the new spouse in hopes that the new spouse will moderate the ex-husband's behavior. This is always worth an attempt. You do not set out the specifics of his behavior, i. e.-how he is being childish, so I am not able to advise you further. The advise of a local attorney who can flesh out the facts is in order here. Probably not very expensive and can lead to some solutions. The main thing to do is to not alienate the new wife just yet. She may get tired of his behavior too. The thing to keep in mind is that this can go on until the child is 18 despite who the ex is married to. Good Luck.