Echo is right on regarding her advice on how to enjoy this recording thing. Playing the idiot blended family oppostion by barring their idiot asses is often one of the few joys to be had when dealing with the toxic toothless dipshits.

We sure did it every chance they gave us which was often.

Similar to what Echo and her DH did setting up BM with the inherritance conversation I once suggested to a member of an old StepFamily forum I belonged to that she create a few fake investment account statements, fake bill of sale for a very expensive car and expensive vacation itenerary with a very high price listed and leave it where her BM controlled snooping Skids would find them.

She did it and had a great time baring the BM's ass when she dragged them to court for a CS mod. The judge actually read BM the riot act.

Regarding the blackberry. Your SS is special needs and that gives you some flexibility in how you deal with it. I would initiate a chronic "the Skid lost his phone" campaign and let BM fund it.

As far as the "she's not my mom" comment... there are many ways to deal with this. Ignoring it is probably the best way to go but what fun would that be? I would sit him down and provide him clarity that you may not be his mother though you do mother him when he is in your home and if he wishes for that to continue he had better pull his head out of his butt, be respectful and quit playing mommy's little eavesdropper. When my SS came home from a SpermLand visitation spouting this crap I gave him a choice. He could continue to call me dad as he always had chosen to do since he was 2yo or he could call me Mr. Rags........ Not anything else. What a child calls an adult is not the child's choice, it is the choice of the adult.

I also gave my SS clarity on what a REAL dad was. He once came home from visiting the SpermIdiot and the SpermClan spouting that SpermGandMa told him he cold not call me dad because I was not his REAL dad and that I was only his step dad. He asked what a step dad was. I explained that a BioDad was the dad that made him with his mom and that a stepdad was married to his mom. The I explained that a REAL dad was one that worked hard every day to provide a nice place to live, good food to eat, safe cars to ride in, good schools to go to and a safe neighborhood to live in. A REAL dad teaches you to read, write, use the toilet, tie your shoes, ride your bike. A Real dad coaches your sports teams, goes to your school events and your parent teacher conferences and a REAL dad loves you and your mom very much.

Most kids are smart as is my SS. At that point he told me that a StepDad sounded like a REAL dad to him. He chose to keep calling me dad since from his earliest memory I was his only REAL dad.

You could also counter by asking SS to not only record everything said in BM's house but take video clips on his BB. That ought to both get the point across to BM and make her head explode.

But first, leave some juicy fake expensive stuff invoices and receipts around for SS to glom on to and take to BM.

Have fun!

}:) }:)

And to answer your question, in many states it is VERY ILLEGAL to record someone's conversations without their knowledge and consent. I'm not sure how it would be viewed since it's a minor doing the recording, however.

When my sister and her husband split we later found out he had tapped their phones. Which means he recorded and listened to her conversations with everyone. I was going through some extremely hurtful and trying times, very personal times, at that point. When I found out I felt incredibly violated, and turned him in. Since my sis had gotten rid of the tape nothing was done as there was no proof, but the police did come and interview me, my mom (who had found the tape recorder) and my sister, as well as him. I also think my mom and sister gave the impression of being spiteful crazies, which probably didn't help my case.