Hello,
My husband’s ex-wife sent all three of their children, 12 and twin 10 year olds, to their our house this summer for visitation with cell phones. She didn’t consult with us about the parameters for the phones (minutes, texts, data plans, etc) nor the rules that we may have for them while in our house. Per our decision, while in our house the children have access to them during the day if they want but at 8 pm the phones go off. Their mother says the phones are for her to be able to have access to them whenever she wants. She has always had access to them whenever she wants by contacting my husband or myself. She receives child support and we have other financial responsibilities outside of the child support but no where is it outlined in the court order that we have to pay for anything along these lines. However, my concern is that if we use her mentality of avoiding the parent and going straight to the children on their phones when we want to communicate with them that she will try to get us to pay for it since we are using it with them. The phones are for other family members to call as well as their friends so they are not strictly designated for child/parent use. If my husband and I contact the children on their phones directly do we assume any sort of financial responsibility in paying for them each month outside of what we already pay in child support?
Thanks!