ABSTRACT
Marriage, divorce, and remarriage are part of a reorganization process that entails a series of major changes in the family. The cleavages created in the nuclear family during this dynamic period have ramifications that affect the kinship system and ultimately the status of the older generation. While most research findings to date have focused on the impact these marital changes have had on parents and children, the effects on the flow of benefits between them and grandparents is beginning to attract interest among gerontologists. This chapter will (1) review what is known about how marital changes affect members of the older generation, specifically in their roles as parents and grandparents, and (2) analyze the grandparent generation during the process of kinship reorganization after the marital changes of their children.
