ABSTRACT
A stepfamily may include a variety of subsystems: the remarried couple, parent-children, stepparent-stepchildren, and natural, half-, and stepsibling subsystems. The parents of the remarrying parent are often a source of help for their adult divorcing child and for their grandchildren as they go through divorce. They may provide financial help, temporary or permanent housing, child care services, and emotional support during and following the divorce. A divorce that involves children requires the ex-in-laws to shape their future relationships with grandchildren who remain in the custody of their previous daughter-/son-in-law. The grandchildren-grandparents relationship will also be shaped by the existence of a new spouse in the life of the noncustodial parent and the grandparents’ relationships with this new spouse. When a parent remarries, the new in-laws have to take a stand regarding their relationship with the children of their adult child’s new spouse. Stepfamilies face a unique situation in which subsystems transcend the boundaries of the family created through remarriage.
