Dear Annie: I ghosted my obnoxious biological brother. Do I owe him an explanation?

Dear Annie: I spent my early childhood in a loving foster family and today, at 75 years old, I have an excellent relationship with my adopted brother.

I lived with my biological family from the age of 7 until I left for college. I have a biological brother, and long story short, we’re not close.

Today I can barely stand him or his family. He brags constantly. He is thoughtless, snobbish, self-centered, condescending, materialistic and does nothing for anyone unless there is something in it for him. He and his wife seem to delight in hurling insults at our children and their families and asking rude and intrusive questions.

My husband, children and I want no contact with him or his family. We stopped making contact with them several years ago. We have not made any “proclamation”; we just stopped contacting them, and they only seemed to realize it recently.

We have not responded to their calls and do not want to. We believe that we should not, at this time in our lives, have to deal with it. And yet, maybe I should at least talk to my brother. I don’t know what to say. Since this man is not listening to my words, they will have to be brief.

But again, we don’t want any relationship with these people. — No contact sought

Dear Contactless: Ghosting a date is one thing, but ghosting your own brother?

Ultimately, it’s not fair to rule it out without explanation. Tell him how you feel hurt by his behavior. If he cares enough to listen to you, you may be able to see a family therapist to get your relationship back on track. If he doesn’t, then your children will probably be better off without the insults and intrusive questions.

Send your questions to Annie Lane at [email protected].