There are too many excellent advice columns to keep up with, so we're committed to bringing you links to the best advice column questions and answers every week. Here's a roundup of the most interesting, thought-provoking and surprising questions that our favorite columnists addressed in recent days.

Is It Reasonable To Expect My Future Husband To Propose To Me With A Ring Worth $800,000 to $1,000,000?

I've always had a clear picture in my mind of what I want in a partner and for my future. A recent conversation with a friend has left me questioning whether my standards are perhaps too high, especially considering my age.

First, I've always imagined my engagement ring as a symbol of not just love, but also of financial security. I expect my future husband to propose with a ring that falls within the range of $800,000 to $1,000,000. To me, this isn't just about materialism, but about the commitment and stability I desire in a lifelong partnership.

Second, I've always been clear that I plan to work for a maximum of five years after marriage. After that, I want to dedicate myself fully to raising our children. While my current partner seems to be on board with these plans, my friend has pointed out that expecting such commitments from a 21-year-old might be unrealistic and could potentially put undue pressure on them. Obviously, I don't expect the ring now, but I will within the next four to five years.

Now I'm torn between sticking to my convictions and wondering if I'm asking for too much, too soon. What do you think?

[UExpress]

Harriette Cole rules that the letter writer is being materialistic and naive. "I recommend that you be able to take care of yourself, no matter what," she writes. "The dream of having a spouse provide for you and your children for life does exist for some families, but most families need income from both partners in the marriage." Read the rest of her answer.

Should I Tell My Family That My Grandfather Left His Father's Body In The Woods To Decompose And Then Gave Me The Skull?

I need a second opinion. My grandfather sold me an old farmstead that has been in the family for 200 years. Last week, he showed me a wooded area behind the barn with a human skull. He told me that when his father died more than 50 years ago, he was curious about how long it would take a body to decompose, so he left his body in the woods to keep track of its progress. He has 50 years' worth of pictures and notes. He told the rest of the family that Great-Grandpa had been cremated, and apparently no one questioned him about the ashes.

At this point, the skull is all that's left. I checked with a lawyer, who tells me that in my state no laws were broken. That said, I don't want my great-grandfather's skull sitting in the woods behind my barn! My husband says I should quietly bury it, burn the pictures and the notes and forget about it. That just doesn't feel right to me.

It feels like I'm helping my grandfather get away with something and it feels "icky." Should I tell the rest of the family, or continue allowing them to believe that Great-Granddad was cremated? I'm resenting my grandfather for putting me in the middle of this, and any advice you have would be greatly appreciated.

[UExpress]

Abigail Van Buren advises the letter writer to weigh what would be accomplished by sharing their grandfather's secret with the rest of the family. "The farmstead and everything that goes with it is yours now to keep or dispose of," she writes. "What you need to do is decide whether to donate your great-grandfather's skull to a medical or dental school (or coven?), place it in a columbarium or bury it on your property." Read the rest of her answer.

Shouldn't My Wife Act Intervene When I Argue With My Adult Sons?

I consider myself a good feminist, so I normally avoid talking in terms of gender roles, yet here I am. Is it the role of a wife and mother to help bridge a rift between a father and his grown sons?

When I have an argument with one of my sons, leading us to not communicate for a time, she just goes merrily along as if it’s none of her business. Sometimes a son needs to have explained how his actions hurt his dad, and sometimes Dad needs to be told why those actions were important to the son.

Sure, the guys should man up and talk it out, but men have egos, and you know in the real world sometimes people retreat into stubborn silence and resentment.

I'm not talking about Mom/wife taking sides, but about being a conciliator. Frankly, this attitude that she's not involved in these two people's sadness or happiness is one reason we're separated (friendly) and slow-walking to a divorce.

[The Washington Post]

Carolyn Hax points out that all kinds of people have egos and make mistakes, not just men. "[M]ature people (of all varieties) recognize their mistakes, leash their egos and initiate reconciliation themselves, modeling for children (of all varieties) how it's done," she writes. "They do not declare it incumbent upon the nearest mature female to goddess-splain them out of whatever messes they've egoed themselves into." Read the rest of her answer.

How Do My Friend And I Reconcile After I Got Us Lost On A Backpacking Trip And Then Blamed Her For My Mistake?

My friend and I recently went on a three-day backpacking trip together, which involved several sections of alpine terrain. She's afraid of lightning to the point where she perseverates about it, even though the risk of being hit by lightning is extremely small. There's a reason that "you're more likely to be hit by lightning" is a common phrase. I promised that we would do everything we could to be below the treeline in the afternoons, when storms tend to come in. The weather ended up being overcast but not stormy for the first two days, which was too bad because we couldn't really take in the views.

On our last morning, we slept in, and when we woke up the weather was nicer than it had been the whole time. It seemed like a waste to have come all that way and then hurry back when everything was perfect, so she agreed to add on an extra short hike up to a view point before we started back to the trailhead. It was only two miles so it shouldn't have added more than an hour or so to our hiking for the day.

She kept pulling out her phone while we were hiking to check the time, which irritated me, because one of my pet peeves is people looking at their phones when we're trying to be present together. Because I was irritated, I was distracted, and we ended up missing a turn and going on a longer route. This led to us being caught in a brief thunderstorm and she freaked out. It passed in about 15 minutes and we were fine. I tried to explain to her that by obsessing over bad weather, she had actually caused us to be caught in bad weather, and if she could try to let her fears go, we would have a much better time. This was a mistake on my part, because she wasn't in the mood for feedback. She's mad at me for getting lost, and I'm annoyed because I think she owes me an apology, too. How do we get past this?

[Outside]

Blair Braverman counsels the letter writer to apologize to their friend. "I think that by framing her anger as being about the missed turn, you're creating a red herring," she writes; "you're using that to downplay the very real other things that I suspect she's more annoyed about, like the fact that — by the sound of it — you pressured her to go on an alpine hike later in the day than she was comfortable with, and then held her responsible for a turn that you yourself missed." Read the rest of her answer.

Am I Overreacting To The Discovery That My Girlfriend Concealed A Huge Raise And Kept Letting Me Pay Most Of The Rent For Years?

My partner and I have been together for eight years. We are committed to each other, but neither of us wants to get married. We keep our finances separate and pay housing expenses based on a ratio of who makes more. When we moved in together and decided on this split, I made significantly more than my partner and paid a higher percentage (65/45). Over the past few years, I have gotten normal raises (think the regular 3 percent to 5 percent) and I thought she did, too, as she never said anything different. I got two big bonuses over the past few years and disclosed them both to her, and she has disclosed her bonuses to me.

We use the same accountant and last week, the accountant accidentally sent my partner's tax return to me instead of her. I didn't realize it until I opened it up and the numbers didn't seem right. It took me a few minutes to realize I had the wrong tax return. I was shocked to see that my partner's income has more than doubled since we decided on our 65/45 split of expenses. When I asked her about it, she first accused me of violating her privacy, then said that I never asked how much her raises were and she figured that the split was fine. We should have been paying 50/50 about a year after we moved in together, and she should now be paying about 70/30. I know she got a promotion around a year after we moved in together, but she downplayed it at the time as a "change in title."

I feel really betrayed. She is now proposing a 50/50 split, but I don't think that is fair or equitable. Part of me wants her to reimburse me the money she should've been paying the past few years, and part of me just wants her to pay 70/30. She says I am being stingy and that I feel threatened because she makes more than me. I am rethinking our relationship — not only because she lied by omission but because she is accusing me of being misogynistic and is not seeing the ethical and moral failing on her part. She thinks I am making too big a deal out of this and we just need to move on. I don't feel like she is trustworthy. I am out of town for 10 days on business, then she goes on a girls' trip the day I get back, so everything seems to be on pause until then. Part of me wants to just find a new place, move out, and have separate household expenses going forward, and part of me wants to just move out and break up. Am I overreacting?

[Slate]

Kristin Wong recommends couples therapy if the letter writer decides to give the relationship another chance. "It's hard enough to feel taken advantage of by a stranger, but when it's your partner, that undermines any sense of trust you two have," she writes. "Your situation is an example of why being transparent about money is so important in relationships, even when partners keep their finances separate." Read the rest of her answer.

How Should I Deal With My Anger When My Husband's Thoughtless Friends Decline To Hire Him As Their Realtor?

My husband is an experienced Realtor. Like many, he has stories of friends who choose not to use him in their real estate transactions. Their excuse is usually that they don't want to mix business with friendship. (This suggests to me that they don't believe the friendship is strong enough to weather the experience or that my husband isn't professional enough to provide top-notch service.) He has lost friends who promised to use him and then didn't — and others who didn't even give him a chance to make his case. They have caused him personal and financial pain. One good friend listed her home recently without even telling him. My husband is a sensitive soul, and it angers me to see him hurt by thoughtless friends. Advice?

[The New York Times]

Philip Galanes encourages the letter writer to identify less with his husband. "Rather than becoming outraged on his behalf, it would probably be more useful to help him manage his hurt feelings — which are understandable,” he writes. "It will serve him better, personally and professionally, to wish these friends well than to sever ties with them." Read the rest of his answer.

Read our last week's column here.