Remove a child that doesn't actually belong to the family

At tithing settlement, a couple in our ward pointed out an error on their membership records. There is a child listed that is not their child. The child doesn't share their last name and was born a few years before the couple was even married.
1. How is it possible that this child could have been mistakenly associated with the couple in our ward?
2. How do I remove the child from their family?

I can't say how the mistake happened but how to correct it depends on whether the child is a member or not. If the membership number is missing or is not the normal format (3 digits, 3 digits and then 4 digits) then the child is a non-member. In that case, find each of the parents' records in MLS (using Membership > Individual Record), click on the Children tab and then click on the Remove link next to the child.

The the child is a member then you remove them from the parents' record the same way but there is still the question of whether they should be linked to their actual parents' records. You can't do anything about that directly but you can contact the Global Service Center (https://www.lds.org/help/support/record ... n?lang=eng) and let them know of the error and they can see if they can find the correct parents (probably by contacting the ward where the child resides).

eblood66 wrote:... or is not the normal format (3 digits, 3 digits and then 4 digits) then the child is a non-member.

I think you mean 3 digits, 4 digits, and then 4 digits. That's the normal format: something like 001-2345-6789.

aebrown wrote:

eblood66 wrote:... or is not the normal format (3 digits, 3 digits and then 4 digits) then the child is a non-member.

I think you mean 3 digits, 4 digits, and then 4 digits. That's the normal format: something like 001-2345-6789.

Indeed.

The latest version of LCR allows editing these relationships. Go to the record for the member in question and look on the Family tab.

scgallafent wrote:The latest version of LCR allows editing these relationships. Go to the record for the member in question and look on the Family tab.

How do you do it? I looked in LCR before posting and I couldn't figure out any way to edit the child member relationship on the parent's side. I can see the edit buttons for parents in the child's record but not for the children in the parent's record.

I also tried to find a non-member child (and non-child of record) but perhaps all the ones I looked at were members (or at least children of record) who are other wards. But I also can't see any way to add a non-member child.

That functionality is in beta right now.