I was speaking with a friend about this yesterday. He is of Indian origin and his wife is from India So he will often send money back to help his wifes family as from time to time they will need it, but then they are not living in dire straits (doctors in the family)... But like we all have hard times, his in-laws could face a choice between starvation for a few days or paying the bills Not the kind of situation we in the west tend to face too often.

And so the family, and extended family all pull together to support one another

Personally, I think if you marry into an Asian family who have a similar sort of bond then you really should expect a few calls for money every so often. But it seems the obvious thing on this forum is that people do not like to send money to fund drink habits or whatever vices some inlaws may have.

I know my mahal was funded through college by an aunt in the USA, so I expect to be "Paying it forward" in the future, and that does not bother me. So long as the family unit here in the UK comes first, then all should be fine.