DEAR ABBY: My husband, “Mark,” and his father have a strained relationship due to things that occurred when Mark was growing up. Mark is an only child, and his mother has passed away. Since I met my father-in-law prior to our marriage eight years ago, he has never taken any interest in me, Mark or our children. While he has never been directly unkind to me, every time there is a conversation, he makes negative comments about my profession. (I’m a lawyer.)
I gather from our conversations that he seeks companionship online and has been scammed multiple times by the “friends” he makes. Abby, what are my duties as a daughter-in-law given the relationship? Mark rarely takes his father’s calls or answers his questions, so he calls me for help.
Mark’s dad has no one else — no siblings, no spouse, no other children and (from what I can tell) no friends. His requests and issues have become draining. I already have three small children who require most of my attention. I dread talking to him because of the inevitable jabs at lawyers, and he rarely takes my advice anyway. Do I need to keep answering his phone calls and texts? — HAD IT IN NORTH DAKOTA
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