Is maintaining kinship ties obligatory if it is a means of exploiting relatives' problems, harming them, and instigating discord, and what should one do when certain of the harm it causes?

Maintaining kinship ties is a religious obligation not limited to visits. It can be fulfilled through giving gifts, making phone calls, and sharing some of what Allah has bestowed upon the one who maintains ties. If a definite harm or temptation results from visiting, then visits should be discontinued, and other means of maintaining ties should be used. If it is impossible to avert temptation and harm except by severing ties, then severing them is preferable, because warding off evil takes precedence over acquiring benefits.