Latest news with #soninlaw
Yahoo
5 days ago
- General
- Yahoo
Dear Abby: My son-in-law is awful to me
DEAR ABBY: My daughter has been married to her high school sweetheart for 15 years. Their marriage has been rocky from the start due to her husband's 'God' complex. He's a spoiled brat and a compulsive liar. He has not only caused mayhem in his own family but has nearly destroyed ours. He was extremely disrespectful to his late parents, and shortly after their deaths his bullying began being directed at us. Unfortunately, I have been the primary target. As a career businesswoman, I've always been able to respectfully stand my ground. Because he cannot control me like he does everyone else, he degrades, ridicules and belittles me, hurling nasty language and offensive behavior at me at every opportunity. I have tried everything humanly possible to get along with him. I've been a kind, loving mother-in-law and grandmother to his children. My daughter can't protect me, nor can my husband. I'm at the point of being willing to sacrifice my relationship with my daughter and grandchildren to get away from this monster. Counseling has given me tools to protect myself emotionally, but in the real-time situation they are not helpful. Any thoughts, Abby? — BROKEN-HEARTED IN NEW ENGLAND DEAR BROKEN-HEARTED: Your son-in-law is an elder abuser and probably a misogynist. The example he sets for your grandchildren is abominable, and they shouldn't grow up thinking it is normal behavior. Perhaps it's time you model the behavior your daughter should follow and separate yourself entirely from her husband. See her one-on-one, if at all. If you would like a relationship with your grandchildren, leave it up to her to make sure it happens. In the meantime, if you have a will, talk to a lawyer about changing it to ensure her husband cannot gain control of your assets. DEAR ABBY: My daughter-in-law is scheduled for surgery in a few weeks. She will need to take a leave of absence from her teaching job. When she put in her request to the principal, he wanted to know what kind of surgery she was having. At first, she told him it was personal and she would prefer not to say, but he continued to harass her until she told him. She was embarrassed because it's a female-related procedure. I told her what he did was unprofessional and it's possibly illegal (HIPAA) for him to ask such a question. In her contract, she's allowed to take an LOA for personal reasons. How do you think she should have handled this situation? — LEAVE OF ABSENCE IN THE EAST DEAR LOA: I think your daughter-in-law handled the grilling as best she could. But understand that the principal had no right to pry into her medical needs. What he did was ethically and morally wrong. If he wanted a note from her doctor explaining her need for time off for surgery, he could have requested it. The details of the procedure were none of his business. If she is suffering emotional distress because of his harassment, she should consult a lawyer. 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 or P.O. Box 69440, Los Angeles, CA 90069. Solve the daily Crossword
Yahoo
20-07-2025
- Yahoo
Dear Abby: My daughter blames me for HER infidelity
DEAR ABBY: When my daughter, 'Trish,' and her husband separated, I reached out to each of them for occasional check-ins. Trish left him after confessing to infidelity via email. He messaged me with a copy of what she'd written, which included some damning things about me — that she was 'like' me and that I am 'not a good person.' She never forgave me for crossing the line with a longtime friend decades ago. My husband owned his part in the situation, and we've moved past it. Apparently, she has not. Although Trish and her husband reconciled briefly, she's moved out again and plans to divorce him. I've offered to go to counseling with her if that would help, but I don't know if she knows I know what she said about me. My son-in-law apologized when he realized what that revelation must've felt like. He shouldn't have shared her email without permission, but it can't be undone now. My daughter is cordial but guarded when we occasionally speak. She lives far away. Should I tell her I know what she said about me, and hope she sees it as an opportunity to get to the bottom of issues between us? Do I continue to reach out in love and compassion, not knowing if she's still holding this grudge, showing her that I love and forgive her, regardless of our mistakes in the past? — IMPERFECT MOM IN FLORIDA DEAR MOM: Amid the turmoil in her marriage, your daughter attempted to blame her infidelity on the example you set for her during her impressionable years. Her husband may have shared what she had written in an attempt to damage her relationship with you, which would be not only unkind, but also manipulative. I don't know what other issues you have with your daughter, but I see nothing to be gained at this point by telling her you know what she said. Bide your time. DEAR ABBY: My 15-year-old grandson races BMX bicycles. Last year, he had a traumatic brain injury and had to be medevaced to a pediatric hospital. Once he recovered, he went right back to racing. Last week, he crashed and damaged both of his kidneys. He's in intensive care as I write this. We don't know how long he'll be there or if he will need dialysis afterward. His parents plan to drive him right back to the BMX track the minute he recovers! I think they are extremely irresponsible. I've read that 15-year-olds aren't able to assess risk properly. What can I do to stop this? — CONCERNED GRANDMA IN THE SOUTH DEAR CONCERNED: There is an adage that suggests if someone falls off a horse, they should get right back on. However, when it comes to life-threatening accidents, common sense tells me the circumstances should not be repeated. That your grandson is now contemplating returning to racing is shocking. That his parents would encourage it seems irresponsible. That said, there is nothing you can do to prevent the boy from risking his life, so start praying. 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 or P.O. Box 69440, Los Angeles, CA 90069. Solve the daily Crossword
Telegraph
11-06-2025
- Business
- Telegraph
‘Our daughter's lawyer accidentally sold her plot of land for free'
Do you have a legal question to put to Gary? Email askalawyer@ or use the form at the bottom of the page. Hello Gary, I am writing on behalf of my daughter and son-in-law, who are having a legal nightmare. They were on track to sell their home, but the sale fell through. This sale included an extra plot of land, adjacent to the property, about the size of a tennis court, and possibly big enough to build a small house. The second buyer could not afford to buy this plot as well as the house, and a lower sale price was agreed for the house and garden alone, excluding the extra land. After completion, my daughter sent an auctioneer to value this land for future sale, but was told by the new owner of the house that he was now the owner of this plot of land and has the Land Registry documents to prove it. It appears my daughter's solicitor sent the wrong transfer deed to the buyer's solicitor, which incorrectly included the additional plot of land. My daughter's solicitor works for a large law firm that has about 20 offices in the UK and has admitted that he was in the wrong. The new owner of the house was sent a firm, but polite, legal letter asking for rectification of the error, mentioning, among other things, unjust enrichment. He has refused to do anything, stating that since he has in his possession the Land Registry documents, he is now the legal owner, even though he knew at the outset that the land was not included in the sale. My daughter's solicitor has passed the problem on to their firm's 'compliance team', but I don't think they are treating the problem with as much importance as they should, particularly as I think they have been negligent. – Ross, by email Dear Ross This is a very sorry tale which reflects badly on the firm your daughter and her husband trusted and paid to carry out important legal work. I agree it is professional negligence, and it is shocking to me that the law firm concerned is not moving heaven and earth to sort it out. It sounds like the buyer is a chancer and is behaving badly. There may be a legal argument for rectification, especially if the contract for sale correctly described the extent of the property to be sold, and it was only the transfer deed that was wrong. Or even if both the contract and transfer deed were erroneous, there may be other evidence, such as the memorandum of sale from the estate agents and other correspondence, which serve as evidence that everyone involved was aware the sale was intended to exclude the additional plot. However, these are issues for the negligent solicitors to resolve as best they can in order to mitigate their liability and the potential value of the claim coming down the line to them from your daughter and her husband. Your daughter should get the auctioneer to value the land, which should have been retained, so the potential claim can be quantified. The question to ask the auctioneer is: 'What would you expect this plot to achieve both as it is and with the benefit of planning permission for a house?' I suggest this because going to the solicitors armed with evidence as to the potential value of the claim against them should focus the mind of the compliance officer. Your daughter should also ask for the legal fees that have been paid to be refunded on the basis that the work was not to the standard expected. A sensible compliance officer would then escalate the complaint to being a top priority and indeed try to resolve it in whatever way is possible in the circumstances. Your daughter and son-in-law may apply additional pressure on the solicitors by giving them a reasonable time frame of say one month to get agreement from the buyer that he will transfer the land back. Also, say if they do not achieve that, they will be bringing a negligence claim, and in that case, they expect the solicitor's professional indemnity insurers to be informed. Solicitors are regulated by the Solicitors Regulation Authority, and one of the many requirements of regulation is for a law firm to have an insurance policy in place to be available to protect and compensate clients when there is negligence on the part of the law firm. If your daughter and her husband have 'legal expenses cover' with their home insurance, they may be able to get independent legal advice at no cost to them regarding the potential negligence claim. But if not, this seems like such a clear case (and indeed the solicitor involved has already admitted liability) that obtaining independent legal advice and ultimately having the cost of that advice paid for by the negligent law firm should not be a problem. All of this should be pointed out to the compliance officer as soon as possible. If the negligent law firm is not sensible enough to immediately seek to resolve this issue without further delay, your daughter can also say she will be asking the Legal Ombudsman to investigate, which is an organisation with a remit to resolve disputes between the providers of legal services and their clients. The Ombudsman can look at issues such as how a complaint has been handled and how the actions of the law firm have impacted the client beyond just financial loss. I hope all this helps and that this distressing situation is soon resolved, either by the land being restored or appropriate compensation being paid out to your daughter and her husband.
