The death of the marriage partner has a leading position by the stress-producing degree for an elderly person, can result in psychological disadaptation, loss of sense and disturbance of temporal life regulation, which specifically externalizes at different stages of grieving, affects personal past, present and future. The article presents the results of empirical research of vital prospects of men and women at the age of 60-70, who have endured death of their marriage partner. The analyses is made of the temporary orientations, the vital purposes, the emotional relation to the future of the people who became a widow/widower more than one year ago and haven’t remarried. It is shown that the loss of the spouse acts as the critical event initiating reorganization of vital prospects of elderly widows and widowers which is shown in concentration on the lived piece of a course of life, reduction of depth of planning of the future about one year, installation formation on expectation of negative vital events (illness, loneliness, death), estimation of the forthcoming period of life as gloomy, pessimistic, uncontrollable. The received results show the need to render the psychological assistance aimed at optimization of planning to the elderly people who have lost the marriage partner.