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A mother-in-law is unsure whether to say something to her son (or his wife) after hearing through the grapevine about an upsetting scene at a hotel bar. A friend of [...]

A reader dreads the thought of her partner seeing her squalid childhood home, but being honest with her parents about her embarrassment is a nonstarter. I am in my late [...]

A reader seeks advice on how to contend with the possibility of a future encounter with her ex after an explosive and painful breakup. My ex and I broke up [...]

A reader is struggling to forgive a fabricated excuse that involves a terminal cancer patient's turn for the worse. My friend of many years, who is an alcoholic in denial, [...]

A reader smells hypocrisy in his co-workers' proclamations of mourning and wants no part of it. Is he obligated to attend her funeral if his heart isn't in it? A [...]

A 20-something woman who lives with her parents has incurred their disappointment by continuing an affair with her former boss. Since she won't end things, should they tell the man's [...]

Tired of being saddled with ''dud'' husbands when their more exciting wives bow out of plans, a reader wonders if there's a way to delicately insist that both members of [...]

After five years of sharing birthdays with her nephew, a reader is bristling at her sister's decision to create a perennial scheduling conflict just for fun. Five years ago, my [...]

A reader is eager to patch things over with her best friend and her boyfriend after they had a tryst behind her back. But should she be? I recently discovered [...]

A reader is miffed to learn that $13,000 was earmarked in her grandmother's will for a younger sister's fertility treatments. Should the sister reimburse her siblings? In her will, my [...]

A reader worries that her 29-year-old son is stringing along his girlfriend of nearly three years: She wants marriage and children, but he's not sure she's 'the one.' My 29-year-old [...]

Unable to treat her parents as often as she would like, a reader is unsure how to encourage them to take a big step toward financial self-reliance. Growing up, my [...]

Because of a family rift, the girl is unaware that she has an uncle in a 35-year same-sex relationship who wants to help. Is it possible to reach out without [...]

A reader is unsure how best to help a cousin she sees as a little sister but who so far hasn't asked for any parenting advice. My cousin's young children [...]

A reader and her husband are united in disapproval of the 14-year age gap in their granddaughter's relationship. What they don't agree on is whether to invite him to dinner. [...]

A reader is concerned that a new beau's frequent references to jumping ship in past relationships may be laying the groundwork for him to do it with her. I have […]

When a couple's 12-year-old starts to point out that no one else in the family seems to have a nose like hers, they can't agree whether to tell her why. [...]

A reader is unsure whether to insert herself into three years of icy silence by sharing a major development in her nephew's life with his mother. My nephew has been [...]

A reader was shocked and infuriated when she wasn't consulted before her 10-year-old was given a melatonin supplement at a sleepover. My 10-year-old daughter attended a sleepover recently. It was [...]

A grieving reader was shocked when dresses that her sister had set aside for her were taken by a friend just days after her sister's death. Shortly before my sister [...]

A reader bristles at the child care that her mother-in-law provides for her wealthy daughter, who the reader doesn't think needs free help as much as she does. I am [...]

A reader is struggling with feelings of resentment toward her husband, whom she accused of imposing a 'death sentence' when their pet was paralyzed in a fall. My husband was […]

A reader abandoned the family table at her nephew's wedding to join her sister at a lesser table, upsetting the groom's father. Should she apologize for ''ruining the wedding''? My [...]

A reader still picking up the pieces after a recent divorce is wrestling with guilt for not wanting to take his mother in, knowing she wouldn't hesitate to help him. […]

A reader's brother-in-law is insisting that she accompany her children to his 1-year-old's birthday party, even though attending would require her to miss an important funeral. My grandmother's funeral and [...]

A reader who was made to choose a college based on price is struggling to understand her parents' support of her younger sister at an expensive private school. My younger [...]

Stung by the revelation that her sister frequently took her clothing without permission in their youth, a reader is baffled by the disclosure: Was it expressly to hurt? My wife [...]

A reader's uncle and aunt were touched when she sent them a Christmas card, but her sister thinks the gesture was a betrayal of their father's memory. My father, who [...]

A reader is anxious about the language barrier keeping her from bonding with her partner's friends. A two-week group vacation has ramped up the urgency. My boyfriend and I have [...]

After 20 years in a house that was never meant to be a ''forever home,'' a reader thinks it's time for a move, but her husband refuses to consider her [...]

A reader is fuming after a friend lied about her efforts to get a wig made for a sick child, and thinks her other friends should know about the deception. [...]

When a woman tries to remedy a relative's unequal generosity to her children using her own estate, her daughter-in-law wonders whether her husband is being shortchanged. My husband's grandfather often [...]

A reader has been feeling left out by her husband's siblings-only dinners -- and never more so than when her brother-in-law crashed a recent get-together. My husband meets his two [...]

Although his wife has long maintained that she doesn't want to know the identity of her birth father, a reader is tempted to find out on her behalf. Ever since [...]

A reader is torn between attending a final dinner with his uncle, who has terminal cancer, and supporting his father, who wasn't invited because of an old grudge. My father's [...]

A reader is torn between attending a final dinner with his uncle, who has terminal cancer, and supporting his father, who wasn’t invited because of an old grudge. SON I [...]

A reader's wife sees bigotry in their exclusion from group photos at a nephew's wedding, but her husband is reluctant to write off his relatives for good. My wife and [...]

A reader is angered by friends who list their homes with other real estate brokers -- sometimes without giving his husband a chance to make his case. My husband is [...]

A reader's feelings are hurt after offering to fly to celebrate her sister's 70th birthday only to be told not to bother, as ''all her family'' would be there. My [...]

A reader’s feelings are hurt after offering to fly to celebrate her sister’s 70th birthday only to be told not to bother, as “all her family” would be there. SISTER [...]

Two years after one of her children received a generous birthday gift, a reader wonders whether to intervene on behalf of her overlooked child. A few years ago, my in-laws [...]

Four years after being laid off, a man in his 50s is still relying on his father, who just moved into an assisted living facility, for support and housing. Should [...]

Four years after being laid off, a man in his 50s is still relying on his father, who just moved into an assisted living facility, for support and housing. Should [...]

Parents who enjoy an otherwise close relationship with their 33-year-old daughter feel hurt not to have been introduced to a man she met three months ago and with whom she [...]

Parents who enjoy an otherwise close relationship with their 33-year-old daughter feel hurt not to have been introduced to a man she met three months ago and with whom she [...]

Put off by pitying displays of concern for her son's paralysis, a reader wonders how to handle a well-meaning friend whose support misses the mark. Our son was partly paralyzed [...]

Put off by pitying displays of concern for her son’s paralysis, a reader wonders how to handle a well-meaning friend whose support misses the mark. MOTHER I think there may [...]

A reader had hoped that her grandmother's ring would stay in the family, perhaps to pass on to her daughter, but her former sister-in-law has so far refused to give [...]

After supporting an old friend through years of incarceration with letters and shipments of books, a reader wants out, put off by the woman's lies about her situation. My oldest [...]

After supporting an old friend through years of incarceration with letters and shipments of books, a reader wants out, put off by the woman’s lies about her situation. FRIEND You [...]