Membership Records and Adoption

1. Can a membership record reflect that a child is adopted? If so under what conditions?
2. At what age do the wishes of the child, as to what is represented on their membership record, supersede those of the parent?
3. At what age can a child see their membership record and learn that they are adopted?

Thanks for you help.

klabacka wrote:1. Can a membership record reflect that a child is adopted? If so under what conditions?

No. A membership record simply indicates that a person is a child of his or her parents. As a clerk is creating membership records for children, the questions ask something like "is <Father> the biological or legal adoptive parent of <Child>?" and the same for the mother. So there is no distinction on the membership record.

klabacka wrote:2. At what age do the wishes of the child, as to what is represented on their membership record, supersede those of the parent?

When a child becomes a legal adult (which I imagine varies from country to country), the child then has rights (within Church policies and the laws of the land) to make changes such as legal name. Until then, the parents are the legal guardians and would have those rights.

klabacka wrote:3. At what age can a child see their membership record and learn that they are adopted?

Because of the previous responses, this question is somewhat irrelevant -- the adoption information is not on the record.

But in general, members don't ever see their actual membership records. They may see their Individual Ordinance Summary, which contains much of the information on the membership record. But again, parents of minor children would be responsible for making decisions in this area. Once a person becomes a legal adult, he or she has every right to see the IOS.

Alan has given a good answer as far as MLS and membership is concerned.

There is an issue of how they appear when they are handed off to FamilySearch to be included in one's genealogy. Maybe I have a short memory, but I don't know as that has a good answer. As pointed out, the membership system only keeps track of the current legal parents.

There is one other way that a child could tell if he is adopted. As an adoptive son, and adoptive parent and an adoptive grandparent, the other place that appears to me is where it says either "BIC" or "Date Sealed To Parents".

Just a thought.

Lack of "BIC" designation does not necessarily, or even usually, imply adoption. It can only definitively designate one thing: Born In the Covenant. "Date Sealed To Parents" covers all other scenarios, of which adoption is only one of many.

As I understand it, the membership record shows the "legal" parents, which in the case of an adoption, are the adoptive parents. There is no place to put another set of biological parents. I have two adopted children and I and my wife are listed as their parents. They know who the biological parents are but it's nowhere on the membership record.

My 18 year old daughter was legally adopted by my husband a month ago. (He is her step father, and the father to whom she is sealed). How would she go about changing her membership--since her maiden name has changed? This is an adult adoption, but her birth certificate is in the process of updating her name, and reflecting my husband as her father. Who do I contact to update both her record and also my husband's record (he is unable to see her as his daughter).

Any advice would be appreciated.

zipcomma wrote:Who do I contact to update both her record and also my husband's record (he is unable to see her as his daughter).

The ward membership clerk of the ward that currently holds her records.

He told her that her maiden name can't be changed and will always carry the name of her birth name...do you have advice we could share with him?

zipcomma wrote:He told her that her maiden name can't be changed and will always carry the name of her birth name...do you have advice we could share with him?

If he meant that the system did not allow the maiden name to be changed then that is incorrect. The maiden name can be edited on the Individual tab of the member profile in LCR.

If he meant that policy did not allow the name to be changed for this reason, then I'd ask the basis for that claim. The only policy I'm aware of is in Handbook 13.6.1 which indicates that legal names should be used on church records. If the birth certificate is amended and shows the new name then that would seem to qualify as her legal maiden name. If she does not have the amended birth certificate yet, then I'd suggest waiting until then and then show the bishop the revised record and ask him to have to clerk make the change. Ultimately her bishop is responsible for records in his ward and has the responsibility to interpret policy in relation to records. So ultimately it's his decision.

Thank you for the direction! That is a great advice, we have shown the order signed by the judge, but will wait until we have the new birth certificate (which should arrive any day) to further pursue this.