My ex-husband has done very well financially and has always bragged about all of his "stuff." I, on the other hand, work three jobs to pay my bills. I don't hold any grudge toward my ex for being financially successful.

He hasn't offered to pay for his daughter's wedding or even make a contribution toward it. My question is -- should my daughter ask for his financial help? -- Mother of the Bride

Dear MOB: My question for you is why you are asking this, instead of your daughter. It is her wedding. If she wants to try to raise funds to finance her wedding and she believes her father has the money, then she and her fiance could try to hit him up for it.

I assume that there is some distance or estrangement between father and daughter. If that is the case, then both parties will feel the impact of the health of their relationship on this wedding day. Fathers of brides do not automatically pony up to pay for weddings, especially if their relationship is rocky.

Dear Amy: I appreciated the question in your column from "Deluged Donor," who was overwhelmed by contact with several people who were offspring created by his long-ago donation.

There is another reason for encouraging children of "sperm donors" (or women who have had a child with donated sperm), to communicate at a very basic level.

The mother and child need to know the donor's lifelong health history.

I speak from personal experience. Although I was not conceived via donated sperm, I was adopted as a baby with no information about the health history of my biological parents. I was unable to get it (as the laws would not permit this in the state where I was born).

Now, at 72, I've been through several life-threatening illnesses; leaky heart valves that were probably congenital, an autoimmune disorder, total hearing loss at 41 years old and a variety of other health problems. It would have been so helpful to have had some clues! -- Facts Wanted

Dear Facts: Absolutely. I urged "Deluged Donor" to provide thorough health information to his many offspring, regardless of whether he chose to have a deeper relationship with them.

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(You can contact Amy Dickinson via email: askamy@tribpub.com. You can also follow her on Twitter @askingamy or "like" her on Facebook. Amy Dickinson's memoir, "The Mighty Queens of Freeville: A Mother, a Daughter and the Town that Raised Them" (Hyperion), is available in bookstores.)