ABSTRACT
Most research on families in later life centers on increasing our understanding of the continuation and termination of long-term relationships. The body of research on widowhood is substantial, and there is a growing interest in long-term marriages that end in divorce. However, there has been a paucity of research on the development of new intimate relationships—dating, courtship, and remarriage—following widowhood or divorce in later life. Although families form and re-form across the life span, these issues are often overlooked or forgotten by researchers who study later life families.
