How do I correct parent-child relationships in Family Tree?

Article:

Correcting parent-child relationships usually requires some analysis before you begin. Common problems include:

• The same child is listed more than once
• A child is linked to the wrong parents
• A fact on a parent's page states that the couple had no children, even though children are connected to them

These errors can lead to Children Mismatch, where a child's relationship to one or both parents is incorrectly recorded. However, you can remove or add a child to a relationship with one or both parents as needed. The records for the child and parents stay in Family Tree but are not connected.
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.

Tip: Write down the names and ID numbers of the people whose relationships you are changing.

Steps (website)

1. In the top menu of FamilySearch.org, click Family Tree, and then click Tree.
2. Navigate to the parent with the incorrect child relationship.
3. Click the parent's name. Then, click Person in the panel on the right to go to their record page.
4. Click the Details tab. Scroll down to the Family Members section of the page and locate Spouses and Children.
5. Locate the relationship between the child and the set of parents.
6. Review the relationships and determine what needs to be corrected.
   
   • One of the parents is incorrect: This likely happened because the record for one of the parents is incorrect, or one of the parents had children in more than one relationship, and the child was added to the wrong set of parents. Click the pencil icon next to the child's name to edit the relationships. Below the incorrect parent, click Remove or Replace. Check the box stating that you have reviewed the relationships, sources, and notes for these individuals, and then click one of the following options:
     
     • Click Replace to replace the incorrect parent with the correct one. This will create a new set of parents for the child, meaning that the correct parent will be listed as having more than one relationship. You can either search for the correct parent by name or enter their ID number if you have it. If no match is found when you search for the correct parent, click Create Person.
     • Click Remove to remove the incorrect parent without replacing it with a different parent.
   • Both parents are incorrect: If this parent-child relationship never existed or is a duplicate, remove the link between the child and both parents. Click the pencil icon next to the child's name. Below the child's name, click Delete Relationship. This will remove the child's connections to both parents.
     
   • The child is listed more than once:
     
     • If a child with the same ID number is listed with multiple sets of parents, determine which set of parents is correct and remove the child from the incorrect set of parents. Click the pencil icon next to the child's name. Below the child's name, click Delete Relationship. This will remove the child's connection to the incorrect set of parents.
     • If a child appears to be listed multiple times with the same set of parents, the child may have a duplicate record, or the parents may have two children with the same name. Click here to learn more about why this might occur. If you determine that one of the records for the child is a duplicate, merge the two records.
       

Steps (mobile app)

1. In the Family Tree mobile app, tap Tree.
2. Navigate to the child with the incorrect parents.
3. Tap their name to open their record page.
4. Tap the Parents tab.
5. Find the child's name, and tap the pencil icon.
   
   • If only one parent is incorrect, tap the drop-down arrow for the parent, and tap either Remove or Replace Father or Remove or Replace Mother.
   • If both parents are incorrect, tap Remove Parents.
6. A new window appears. 
   
   • To remove a parent or parents, check the box stating that you have reviewed the relationships, and tap Continue. Explain why, and then tap Remove.
   • To replace a parent, check the box stating that you have reviewed the relationships, and tap Replace. The Replace Person screen appears.
     
     • If you know a parent's ID, tap Add by ID. Enter the ID, and tap Continue. Tap Select. Explain why the information is correct, and then tap Replace.
     • If you do not know a parent's ID, complete the search fields, and then tap Continue.
       
       • If the correct person appears in the list, tap Select.  Explain the reason for your change, and tap Replace.
       • If the parent does not appear, tap No Match. Explain the reason for your change, and tap Replace.

Steps (Family Tree Lite)

Here are the steps for removing or replacing a child in a family using Family Tree Lite:

1. Sign in to Family Tree Lite (lite.fs.org).
2. Navigate to the Person page of the child with the incorrect parents.
3. Under the individual's name, tap View Family.
4. Under Parents and Siblings, find the child's name, and tap the Edit icon.
5. If only one parent is incorrect, tap Remove or Replace under the name of the incorrect parent. If both are incorrect, tap Remove or Replace under the name of the child.
6. Do one of the following:
   
   1. To remove a parent or parents, tap the appropriate Remove button. Enter a reason and tap Remove.
   2. To replace a parent or parents, tap the appropriate Replace button. The Replace Person screen appears.
      
      • If you know a parent's ID number, click Find by ID Number, enter the ID number, and then tap Next. (FamilySearch Lite does not add the hyphen into or capitalize the letters of the ID. Enter it manually) Tap Add Person or Add Couple.
      • If you do not know a parent's ID number, complete the search fields, and then tap Next. If the correct person or couple appears in the list, tap Add Person or Add Couple. Otherwise, to create a parent record, tap Create Person. 

Recommended next steps

Removing or changing the parent-child relationship does not remove or change the parents' couple relationship. If the mother or father is wrong, you must also remove or replace one of the spouses.

Related articles

How do I specify biological, step, adopted, and foster relationships in Family Tree?
How do I see what changes were made about a person in Family Tree?
How do I merge possible duplicates in Family Tree?
A person in Family Tree has the wrong spouse
The same child shows more than once in a family in Family Tree

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