A person in Family Tree has the wrong spouse

Article Id: 1432
July 09, 2025
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You can fix a wrong spouse relationship at any time. 

If you make a mistake during this process, do not worry. You can undo any changes you made by going through the Latest Changes feature on the right side of the page.

Remove: This will remove the couple relationship with its sources and notes. It will also remove the individual from the child relationships shown. This action can also be done by clicking on Delete Relationship at the bottom of the Couple Relationship window.

Replace: This will replace the person in the couple relationship with a different person and will preserve the sources and notes. It will also replace this person in the child relationships shown.

Steps (website)

  1. In the top menu on FamilySearch.org, click Family Tree, and then click Tree.
  2. Navigate to the person on the tree with the incorrect spouse.
  3. Click the person’s name. In the panel on the right, click Person. The person's page appears.
  4. Click the Details tab. Scroll down to the Family Members section of the page and locate Spouses and Children.
  5. Review the relationship that needs to be corrected.
  6. Click the pencil icon to the right of the marriage facts below the couple. The Couple Relationship window appears.
  7. Below the spouse, click Remove or Replace.
  8. Read the Remove and Replace information and determine which option to choose.
  9. Check the box if you have reviewed the relationships, events, facts, sources, and notes for these individuals. Then, click either Replace Husband or Replace Wife, or Remove Husband or Remove Wife.
    • If you clicked to remove the spouse, explain why, and then click Remove.
    • If you clicked to replace the spouse, the Replace screen appears:
      • If you know the spouse's ID number, click By ID Number, enter the ID number, and then click Next. Click Add Match. Explain your reason for the change, and then click Replace.
      • If you do not know the spouse's ID number, complete the search fields and click Next. If the correct person appears in the list, click Add Match. Otherwise, click Create Person. Explain your reason for the change, and then click Replace.

Steps (mobile app)

  1. In the Family Tree mobile app, tap Tree.
  2. Navigate to the individual with the incorrect spouse.
  3. Tap their name to open their record page.
  4. Tap the Spouses tab. 
  5. If the individual has more than one spouse listed, tap the caret to expand the information about the spouse who is listed incorrectly. To the right of the marriage facts, tap the pencil icon.
  6. Tap Remove or Replace Father or Remove or Replace Mother.
  7. Review relationship information and then tap in the box (to indicate that you have reviewed the relationships, sources and notes for the individuals involved). Tap the Remove or the Replace button.
    1. If you tapped Remove, explain why, and tap Remove.
    2. If you tapped Replace, find the correct spouse.
      1. If you know the spouse's ID number, tap Find by ID or Add by ID.
      2. Enter the ID number, and then tap Continue.
      3. Tap Select. Explain why the information is correct, and then tap Replace.
      4. If you do not know the spouse's ID number, enter information in the search fields and tap Continue. Indicate whether the spouse is living or deceased, and then tap Continue. If the correct person appears in the list, click Add Match. Otherwise, use your search entry to create a record. Explain the reason for your change, and tap Replace.

Steps (Family Tree Lite)

  1. While signed in to Family Tree Lite, navigate to the Person page of the individual.
  2. Under the individual's name, click View Family.
  3. Under Spouses and Children, you can view the different marriage relationships.
  4. Between the individual and the spouse, click the Edit icon.
  5. Click Remove or Replace under the name of the incorrect spouse. 
  6. Do one of the following:
    1. To remove an incorrect spouse, click the appropriate Remove button.
    2. To replace an incorrect spouse, click the appropriate Replace button. The Replace Person screen appears.
      • If you know the spouse's ID number, click Find by ID Number, enter the ID number, and then click Next. (FamilySearch Lite does not add the hyphen into or capitalize the letters of the ID.) Click Add Person.
      • If you do not know the spouse's ID number, complete the search fields, and then click Next. If the correct person or couple appears in the list, click Add Person or Add Couple. Otherwise, to create a parent record, click Create Person. 

Next steps

When you remove or replace a spouse, the parent-child relationship also changes for children attached to the couple. As needed, remove the parent-child relationships with the incorrect spouse.

How do I correct parent-child relationships in Family Tree?
How do I see what changes were made about a person in Family Tree?
How do I add a family member to the pedigree in Family Tree?
How do I add or change marriage information in Family Tree?

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