your state of residence. (In my layman's opinion).

I do not know about other states but in the Republic of Texas it is legal to record any conversation that you are party to without notifying any else participating in the conversation (at least it was legal in the late 90's). In some states it is illegal to record a conversation without notifying all parties to the conversation that it may be recorded.

Any messages she leaves on your V-Mail are your property and can be submitted to the court to as evidence of BMs behavior. (again in my layman's opinion). Whether or not the Judge will listen to them or consider them in a ruling is dependent on the individual Judge.

Recording and/or keeping a written call log/journal of all conversations with the blended family opposition is a great tool for implementing and enforcing your will with the opposition and in court. If you are consistent in keeping a journal it can go a long way to giving your position credibility with the Judge in a they said/we said situation. It gives a taste a reasonableness to your comments.

And ...... it really, really pisses off the opposition when they are siting on the witness stand under oath saying "I never said that" when your attorney pulls out your V-Mail or conversation tapes and you can refer to you log notes to confirm your position.

My Wife kept a Journal and we recorded all conversations with THEM for more than 10 years when we lived in TX. Those records came in handy several times in court and with our attorney when we were drafting harsh letters to the blended family opposition. Eventually our diligence in recording calls, keeping v-mails and maintaining a journal forced THEM back in their hole and we use the records to smack them when they pop their heads out to make trouble.

Good luck and best regards,

Success is rarely final. Failure is rarely fatal. It is character, courage and consistency of effort that count. Vince Lombardi (with some minor Rags modifications) To each according to their performance, screw Karl Marx. (Rags)

I'm not sure what state you are in...but I'm in Texas. Here we can record a conversation as long as one party has knowledge of it. Example: We record all conversations between my DH and his ex. He knows it is being recorded and he is one half of the conversation. We do this because of all the lies she has told.
Now you can't record the conversation between the child and the other parent. You won't be able to use it. Hope that helps.

You should definitely look into the laws in your state. Some states say you need to let the other person know they are being recorded if you want to use the recordings as evidence others state that it doesn't matter if the other person knows or not.