There are a number of situations in which you need to reassign or move a name currently in your CMD data file from one family to another. Common situations include:

•When the time comes to give a young adult his or her own family record

•When there is a marriage where you are combining two households or two members from different households

•When there is a separation or divorce, and you need to establish a new, separate family record for one of the spouses

Though there will be other situations where you will need to move or reassign a name, the situations listed above will serve well as illustrations for how to handle them when they arise. Following are specifics for each example above:

Giving a Young Adult His/Her own Family Record

•Go to the Enter/Modify/Delete Names dialog

•Call up the individual using the Individual Name Search dialog which appears when you click the Find Individual button

•Right click your mouse pointer directly on the name on the tab of the person for whom you wish to create a new family record. This brings up Individual Information dialog. In addition to providing some record number information, it includes a button and a check box that facilitates the easy moving of a person from a family to a brand new family

•If the address will be the same, make sure the Keep current family address/phone info check box is checked, then click the Create and Reassign to Own New Family button

This will automatically create a new family entry and move the individual to this family in one, convenient operation.

Note that you may also do this manually if you prefer (though there is really no reason to!). If you wish to do it manually, click the tab of the + button on the navigation bar to create a new family record. Enter in the new family information for the young adult, including their own new family name. Enter the address and home phone number of available.

Click the Add New Family Member button and select Reassign a Name. This will bring up the Reassign a Person Name Search dialog. Find and highlight the name you wish to move to this new family record. Once the name is highlighted, click the Reassign Name button at the top of the Name Search dialog.

Combining Names from Two Households

We’ll assume for this example that two people are getting married and the husband will move to the wife’s address. Here are the steps:

•Go to the Enter/Modify/Delete Names dialog. Click Find Family and find the wife’s current family record. When her record appears, first update the Family Name field to include the new husband’s name as well. Since the couple will be using her address, that won’t have to be modified.

•Click Add New Family Member, and select Reassign a Name. Find the new husband’s name, highlight it, then click the Reassign Name button at the top edge of the Individual Name Search dialog. That will move the husband to this family record.

•However, because CMD generally formats names most normally in husband-wife order rather than wife-husband order, there is one final step that you should take. Click the Reorder icon (it’s in the upper right corner of the Individuals Data area next to the envelop icon). That will bring up the re-order dialog. Click on the husband’s name, and use the pointer icons to move him up to the first name on the list and then click OK.

•Don’t forget to update the Family Status and Marital status fields of the husband and wife.

Separation or Divorce

If one of the adult members of a family is leaving for a new, separate address, first go to the Enter/Modify/Delete Names dialog, click the Find Individual button, and search for the individual who is leaving for their own address.

•Go to the Enter/Modify/Delete Names dialog

•Call up the individual using the Individual Name Search dialog which appears when you click the Find Individual button

•Right click your mouse pointer directly on the name on the tab of the person for whom you wish to create a new family record. This brings up Individual Information dialog

•Uncheck the Keep current family address/phone info check box, then click the Create and Reassign to Own New Family button

This will automatically create a new family entry and move the individual to this new family in one, convenient operation.

Special Note

Please note that if you reassign a person from a family in which they were the only member, you will have a family record left over which should be deleted. You will have to do this manually by calling up the family name to be deleted using the Find Family button in the Family Data area, and then clicking the "-" button on the Navigator bar.