Dear Eric: My cousin (more like a sister) has been making some extremely rash and concerning choices over the last year. After she had her second baby, she left her husband and started seeing a series of borderline-abusive men. She is now in the process of signing over full custody of her children to her ex-husband and is impulsively buying a house out of state.
Dear Eric: Soon after we had our first child, my wife uncovered a repressed memory that she had been sexually abused by her father when she was 18 years old.
Dear Eric: I live in a very rural and rather remote area where you can count “neighbors” on one hand. My husband and I made friends with one who lives about five miles away; we’re not “close” but she and I share a lot of common interests, have shared meals, house and pet sitting, etc.
Dear Eric: My brother and I were estranged for many years at his insistence. We were able to reconcile after our father’s death when I gave him a larger portion of the estate than my father had willed to him.
Dear Eric: Often when I make a comment or tell a story my husband corrects me. If I try and defend what I’ve said, he just implies that I’m wrong and he’s right. It can be embarrassing when we are out socially. Most of the time I let it slide. Because if I try to point out that I’m correct and he’s wrong, he just carries on as if he’s right. At home, I’ll find evidence that proves that I was right. He just goes “Oh.” I explain to him that I am embarrassed by him correcting me in front of others. He doesn’t seem to care. What should I do?
Dear Eric: I’m no longer as calm as I used to be! Any advice?
Dear Eric: My brother passed in 2023. He was not married and had no children. He left an estate of $1.5 million. My two sisters and I split his estate equally and have finally closed the estate. From the start, my older sister’s husband protested that we should not split the estate equally. He says we should have split it to “level the retirement playing field.” In other words, I should have declined my inheritance to give my sisters a retirement financially equivalent to what my husband and I have.
Dear Eric: I lost my oldest, beautiful, intelligent daughter five years ago at 38 years young. She left behind two young sons and a spouse. Her death ultimately stemmed from alcoholism; however, she was admitted to the hospital with pneumonia and eventually her body shut down organ by organ.
Dear Eric: I was raised that, when a friend suffered a loss, we would go to the house with food, flowers or just to offer our support. If the person was too far away, we’d call and send a card or flowers. Six months ago, my son died unexpectedly of a heart attack, and I’ve been dealing with unbearable grief while at the same time having to deal with his affairs mostly alone.
Dear Eric: I am heartbroken. I question everything about what I thought our relationship was given how unkind this decision was. Also, money or limits on the number of invites was not a factor in the decision.