Communication is key to a healthy relationship between two individuals. Even two individuals that strongly disagree about most things, can still maintain a healthy relationship with some positive communication. One of these methods of communication is e-mail. Is that a good method?
Personally I feel that any form of written communication can be both good and bad. The good points are that you have a written account of whatever communication was taking place, but the bad points are too strong to neglect pointing out.
Emails can get lost in cyberspace or a particularly spammy inbox. This is a problem because the parent who wrote the email is going to assume that the parent that would have received the email, did in fact receive it, and problems are sure to occur.
In addition, not everyone checks their emails everyday. Life happens and sometimes we get too busy to focus on email and have to attend to other things. So what does that mean? It means that if it is for something that is time-sensitive, a phone call is a much better option. At least that way you know the other parent received the information and that any conflicts or questions can be worked out right there on the phone and not in a back and forth fashion so notorious of email.
The only other form of written communication that I can see being beneficial, and is often written into the final decree or child custody orders, is the mailed letter. And not just any mailed letter. It is strongly encouraged by many to send a certified or registered letter. This is a great method since you wind up being able to either A.) track the item to make sure it arrived or B.) get a confirmed delivery signature at the end so that you know that it has been received and who at the other end received it.
The negatives of this, is that sometimes last minute communication comes up, and there isn’t time to send out a letter. In addition, this is a costly form of communication because each certified or registered letter costs money to send, and even 12 letters a year (one a month) can really add up.
The most affective method of communication is verbal in any situation, so if there is any way you can contact your ex in person or over the telephone, this is by far the best method.