Generational Jeopardy? Parents' Marital Transitions and the Provision of Financial Transfers to Adult Children

Objectives. Transitions into and out of marriage are becoming more commonplace among persons in middle and later life. We assess the extent to which parental marital transitions influence inter vivos financial transfers to adult children at the family level. Methods. Panel data from 6,017 households with adult children in the 1992-1998 waves of the Health and Retirement Study are analyzed in this study. Results. Net of familial characteristics, those families experiencing a parental marriage were less likely than stably married households to make a financial transfer to an adult child. The effects of divorce or widowhood were modest. Divorce was associated with a slight increase in the probability of providing a transfer. Widowhood was associated with a slight increase in the total amount transferred to children. Discussion. The study adds weight to the growing argument that marital transitions may alter intergenerational exchanges. The results prompt us to further question how broader demographic and marriage patterns will influence relationships between parents and children in aging societies.