Individual listed as child of member in ward is actually not related

[walkrjg]

During our recent tithing settlement, a ward member was given her personal record to verify the information. While doing so, she noticed that an unrelated individual - someone who does not even live in our ward - has been included in the list of her children. How do I go about removing that individual from the list of this member's children?

[eblood66]

In MLS, find the parent's record (using Membership > Individual Record from the menu), click on the Children tab on the left side and then click on the Remove link next to the incorrect child.

[davesudweeks]

I am no longer in a calling to manage membership records, but I believe this action will correct the family but leave you with a child in your ward who is now the head of their own household. (Note: I'm assuming we are talking about a child, which is not verified either way by the OP)

You will need to follow the steps to move their record out if you don't know who they are or where they live. You might be able to send a message through MLS to membership support and give them the details of the child. I have done that in the past and they are very good at determining where the record should go - they can see worldwide membership information so they might be able to drop the child back with their actual parents.

[russellhltn]

I am no longer in a calling to manage membership records, but I believe this action will correct the family but leave you with a child in your ward who is now the head of their own household. (Note: I'm assuming we are talking about a child, which is not verified either way by the OP)

I don't think we're talking households - I think we're taking about a child in the "genealogical" area of the record. If the child is a member, it could leave them without parents, but that's something that member's ward will need to fix.

[eblood66]

I am no longer in a calling to manage membership records, but I believe this action will correct the family but leave you with a child in your ward who is now the head of their own household. (Note: I'm assuming we are talking about a child, which is not verified either way by the OP)

No, the procedure I described will not affect who is in the household. It will only change the parents' record. The OP didn't mention that they had the membership record of the child. I would assume that if they did they would have found this issue much sooner as the person would show up in the Directory, on rolls and so forth. However, if they do have an actual membership record it would still be in the same household. But they would need to move it out of the ward and a message about it to support would be appropriate.

[jdlessley]

... a ward member was given her personal record to verify the information.

Nit pick: I hope what you really gave her was her IOS (Individual Ordinance Summary) since the membership record should only be viewed by the bishop and ward clerk.

[walkrjg]

The "child" in question is an adult, and from what I've been able to find out lives in Washington State, whereas we are in Texas. No idea how this individual got hooked up with the family in our ward. Thanks for the advice.

[russellhltn]

The "child" in question is an adult, and from what I've been able to find out lives in Washington State, whereas we are in Texas.

Just so no one gets the wrong idea, In the genealogical area of the individual member's records, children are children regardless of age, where they live or if they are still alive. The only reason to remove a child is because they are not related or it's the incorrect relationship (grandchild, niece, nephew - something other than child/parent.)

While for a young family the information may be identical to the household, it's really a completely different thing.

[walkrjg]

In MLS, find the parent's record (using Membership > Individual Record from the menu), click on the Children tab on the left side and then click on the Remove link next to the incorrect child.

So I followed these instructions in MLS, and was able to delete the individual's name as a member of the family. I thought that would be the end of it. However, the next time I logged onto MLS I had received a message from Salt Lake stating that they couldn't complete the removal of this individual from the family without more information. They gave me instructions on how to pull up the name and make a "special request" (I don't have access to MLS right now so can't remember exactly what it was called). This basically entailed pulling up this person's name and making a comment in the "special request" field as to why it should be removed. I tried to follow their instructions to do so but, alas, was not able to because the person in question is not and has never been a member of our ward, so there is no name for me to comment on (I would have been able to for the children of this family that do, in fact, live in our ward). I also noticed that the person is no longer listed a family member on MLS, but still is on LDS.org.

[eblood66]

In MLS, find the parent's record (using Membership > Individual Record from the menu), click on the Children tab on the left side and then click on the Remove link next to the incorrect child.

So I followed these instructions in MLS, and was able to delete the individual's name as a member of the family. I thought that would be the end of it. However, the next time I logged onto MLS I had received a message from Salt Lake stating that they couldn't complete the removal of this individual from the family without more information. They gave me instructions on how to pull up the name and make a "special request" (I don't have access to MLS right now so can't remember exactly what it was called). This basically entailed pulling up this person's name and making a comment in the "special request" field as to why it should be removed. I tried to follow their instructions to do so but, alas, was not able to because the person in question is not and has never been a member of our ward, so there is no name for me to comment on (I would have been able to for the children of this family that do, in fact, live in our ward). I also noticed that the person is no longer listed a family member on MLS, but still is on LDS.org.

I would try making the special request for the parent and indicate the name of the child to be removed in the notes.