How To Protect Myself From Bad‑faith Communication In Ofw?

Location: California

I’m looking for legal guidance on how to set communication boundaries with a co‑parent who sends long, corrective, adversarial messages in our court‑ordered app.

Background:
I recently re‑entered my child’s life after a period of absence due to personal circumstances. The other parent currently has full physical custody. I have two 30‑minute video calls per week, which are my only contact with my child right now. My child is autistic (level 1).

The other parent is a lawyer. His messages are long, formal, and often read like legal briefs. He has expressed personal resentment toward me in the past. Whenever I respond, he reframes my words as me being “uncooperative,” even when I’m following the order exactly. Because of this, I’m afraid to say anything beyond the bare minimum.

Examples of the communication pattern:

• Calls sometimes go to 35 minutes, but I end them as close to on time as possible.
• He has entered the room mid‑call demanding it end immediately.
• He sends long corrective messages late at night (e.g., 10:30 PM).
• He insists I supervise homework during my calls, though the order doesn’t require this.
• He frequently sends messages that feel accusatory or policing.
• If I clarify anything, he twists it or uses it to portray me negatively.

My questions:

1. Is there a legally safe way to set communication boundaries, such as asking that messages remain factual and limited to necessary information?
   
2. Could this pattern be considered harassment or bad‑faith communication under family law standards?
   
3. Do I need to involve an attorney to request a communication protocol, or is there a way to handle this within the existing order?
   
4. Is it advisable to keep responses extremely short to avoid misinterpretation?

I’m trying to minimize legal fees (I’ve already spent around $12k) and want to know what options exist for managing communication in a court‑ordered app when the other parent is using tone and wording in a way that feels adversarial.