Dear Abby: He wants to benefit from her Social Security
Dear Abby I ve been married for years to my second husband Jack Our children are grown When we met I was a business owner and he was retired He has had numerous clinical issues and procedures and I have inevitably insured him on my wellbeing plans and been his advocate We have inevitably had separate bank accounts and a household account we equally contribute to Jack has numerous CDs and funds that he manages We do not commingle those funds I have never appealed for money from him and have consistently contributed to any of the household necessities I still work full time and in recent weeks began receiving my Social Assurance which I m banking for my retirement as I don t anticipate receiving any of Jack s money Maybe I will but I need to be proactive on my own behalf Jack is now seeing my increased income and wants me to contribute a larger portion of my salary to the household account I don t think his expectation is fair or warranted I do majority of the household and yard chores since he has become limited in his ability and strength Please advise Working Gal in Washington Dear Working Gal The way you have described it your marriage seems more like a business relationship than a partnership If you are included in your husband s estate plans you should know what they are Because you don t know any details and you may need those funds later you should discuss this with YOUR financial adviser before putting any of your retirement money into the household account Dear Abby My niece just now received her doctorate and I have been invited to a celebration A small bakery will be catering the meal I have celiac disorder which means I have dietary restrictions no wheat that my family is aware of because another niece also has celiac The bakery is small and is located in a small rural population I tried looking up their menu online without success How do I handle this I inquired and was reported they will have a baked potato on the menu Should I bring my own food to the celebration Should I not attend or attend and have only the baked potato I like baked potatoes but I would ostensibly need more to eat than that Should I bring up my dietary restrictions prior to the celebration or drive the four-hour round trip in silence Restricted in Ohio Dear Restricted It says in the Bible Seek and ye shall find Because the bakery doesn t have an online presence doesn t mean it doesn t have a telephone Use it tell them about your dietary requirements and ask if you can be accommodated beyond a baked potato You may be pleasantly surprised especially since you aren t the only relative who has dietary restrictions However if the answer is no bring something along you CAN eat and consume it near the end of your four-hour drive rather than suffer in silence Dear Abby is written by Abigail Van Buren also known as Jeanne Phillips and was founded by her mother Pauline Phillips Contact Dear Abby at www DearAbby com or P O Box Los Angeles CA
