Property Box: Main Tab for Individual Records

Select Relationship Type

This dialog allows you to specify the relationship between a child and his or her parents. Although you can if you wish specify explicitly that a child's relationship to his or her parents is 'birth', we do not recommend that you do so ordinarily as this will add considerable work for little benefit. Instead, we recommend that you leave the relationship field blank for all children if they are birth children. If the relationship type is not specified, it will be taken to be birth by default in any case. You should only specify explicitly that a child's relationship is 'birth' if you have some specific reason to do so - e.g. to emphasize the nature of the relationship, in circumstances in which it might otherwise be doubted.

Where possible, you are recommended to not use the option Specify relationship to each parent separately unless you need to. Note that two values ('Ilegitimate' and 'LDS Sealing') can only be used in relation to both parents jointly, not separately.

The possible values and their meanings are:

Adopted	Child was adopted
Birth	Birth child (rarely used - see note above).
De Facto	Use De Facto as a catch-all if none of the other options apply. It is useful if, for example, a child has been accepted by the world as a person's son or daughter, even if in fact they aren't that person's genetic offspring. For example, through your research you may be satisfied that a given boy is not the birth child of a given man X. But X, and everyone else - even possibly including the child's mother - may all wrongly believe that the boy was X's son, and the child may have been brought up as X's son, and lived and died believing that he was X's son. None of the other options apply. The child is not adopted, fostered, step or birth; nor is he X's illegitimate son. So what is their relationship? De Facto covers it best.
Foster	Child was fostered
Illegitimate	It is recommended that this relationship type is only used with respect to individuals who lived at a time when the concept of 'illegitimacy' was used, viewed as important, and carried a social stigma; and where the fact that they were viewed as 'illegitimate' had significance for the lives of the individuals in question. It is not intended for use with modern-day children who happen to be born out of wedlock. This relationship type can only be applied with respect to both parents.
LDS Sealing	This relationship type is specific to the LDS Church (Church of Latter Day Saints) who originally devised the GEDCOM format. This relationship type can only be applied with respect to both parents.
Step	A step-child.