There is a way around that in the short term, it won't necessarily work in the long term. From now on, if you need an answer from him about something, simply state exactly what you want to happen, and tell him that unless you hear from him personally to the contrary, that you will assume that he agrees with you and will act accordingly.
That will force him to communicate with you. Then, if he does not respond, but rather his wife does, then inform her that again, unless you hear from him directly, you will assume that he agrees with you. That will drive them both nuts but it will either force him to try to take it to court to compel you to do things his way (which will backfire on him) or force him to act like a grownup.