ABSTRACT
This chapter describes the complexities of family life in the future due to new family arrangements. Older adults now and in the future will have greater choice in the type of intimate relationships they form. Late-life couples often divorce because the marriage can no longer support the changing roles, needs, or desires of the individuals. The Social Security Administration reported that never-married older people had the highest rate of poverty among all marital status groups. One woman, in an in-depth study of marriage after widowhood, stressed the importance of companionship. Some widows reported negative attitudes toward remarriage and an increased enjoyment of their independence. The chapter also describes the alternatives to marriage such as common-law unions and cohabitation, and lifelong singlehood. In part, the rising divorce rate among people age 50 and over fuels this trend toward cohabitation. The trend toward a higher divorce rate suggests that, compared to older adults in the past, new cohorts feel freer to divorce.
