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Ask Amy: Brother writes unsettling funeral home dispatches

Amy Dickinson, Tribune Content Agency on

Well, the second marriage only lasted five years.

My nephew has three daughters from his first marriage, and I would prefer the ring stay in the family.

Do I have the right to ask for the ring back?

— Hoping

Dear Hoping: You have the right to ask for anything, as long as your expectations are reasonable.

I’m assuming that your nephew gave this ring to his second wife. State laws seem to vary concerning whether wedding rings are marital property (belonging to both and subject to division upon divorce), or separate property (individually owned). Family heirlooms are often considered a separate category, and (according to my research) a judge might ask that the ring be returned to your family.

If the two of them did not divorce through a court, but have a cordial relationship, your nephew could certainly ask his ex if she would return the ring in order to keep it in your family.

Yes, you have the right to ask if he would be willing to try.

Dear Amy: “Hurt in Ohio” was very upset because one sibling received all of the family photo albums after their mother’s death.

 

Thank you for pointing out that parents should divide photos with the goal to pass them along to all family members.

My mother prepared albums or each of her children and left other photos with the direction that we should share and swap them.

— Grateful

Dear Grateful: Family photos are of little monetary value, but their emotional value is impossible to measure.

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(You can email Amy Dickinson at askamy@amydickinson.com or send a letter to Ask Amy, P.O. Box 194, Freeville, NY 13068. You can also follow her on Twitter @askingamy or Facebook.)

©2021 Amy Dickinson. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.


 

 

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