Just adding another vote of support here.  I can't wait for this to happen and look forward to being able to better work on my tree when it happens.

Annelise, I have not read your work-around for adoptive or foster situations, but from Michael's comment and a few assumptions, I'd have to say I disagree with this approach. Relationships are complicated, subjective and unique. Moreover, most of the people I know interested in genealogy take great pride in making sure the records are accurate. Surely, I could figure out a number of ways to work around this issue, but that doesn't mean that it is the right way to go about it, or that we should stop petitioning Geni.com to put effort into supporting this feature. 

I don't know about you, but my family is rife with adoptions, and in many of those cases, knowledge of both sets of parents is requisite to have a full understanding of what those people's lives were like. Espcially when you go back to smaller communities, where you are more likely to find several connections between the biological and adoptive parents, it is currently very difficult to portray that. 

The bottom line is this. For those who are continuing to research, it is important to find a work-around in order to keep track of the things you know/discover while we are waiting for this feature. But, lets also continue to request this feature in the meantime. 

p.s. My family also has orphans that were raised in the family but not adopted.  The ancestry of the foster parents is not relevant to the legal situation of the orphans, their parents has the misforture of dying yount.  The foster parents can be listed with the same workaround as I have used for adoptees. 

This has nothing to do with a  "cultural hang-up".  When Geni implements things they should do the most good for the most people - to make the most money for the company  There is a work-around that I have described and you can use it.    You are not being stopped from creating a tree that shows adoptees as full family members.  You can choose to create a birth-parent tree, an adoptive parent tree - or both.  No one is stopping you.  Just do it.

We lead complicated lives and want to include and recognize adopted children as full family members. Adopted children have a natural curiosity to meet and connect with their biological parent or parents and half siblings.  Geni recognizes the concept of "Partner" or "Common-Law relationship" and recognizes that relationships can be opposite-sex or same-sex relationships.  So what is the cultural hang-up over recognizing adopted relationships?  We are now usually identifying these relationships as biological because that where the skill level is.

I have been hoping for this feature since I first signed up in 2010. My family, and many families are rife with adoptions. In many cases, the adoptive families and blood families BOTH play an extremely important and profound role in a person's life. I'm not sure exactly how it should work out or show on the tree. Perhaps that should be up to the user (choose default parents or something). 

I REALLY want this feature. 

I still would like to see this  support for adoption and even foster childre as people do list them as"blood relatives which is incorrect - - this option should be available on GENI as it is SUPPORTED in    regular   genealoogiclal programs such as Legacy, PAF, family Tree   Below attached is

a screen shot of the main data entry table it covers much more than this issue   but  is request ideas for improvements that have been  ignored over the past year and a half or more

Why isn't there any feedback from the admins?

I just started my free 14 day trial today and planned not to cancel but this is negative. To solve the problem for now I followed this instructions: http://wiki.geni.com/index.php/Adoption The first one gives a three conflict so I thought it was kinda rubbish solution. I therefor went for the second solution. It kinda works but why no integrated solution or any explanation from the admins?

Shortly after the end of WWII one of my relatives formally adopted two children he had hidden during the war; their parents were murdered in Auschwitz. I have created profiles of the children as his son and daughter with a fictitious mother. I would like to add profiles of the children's biological parents to the tree and honor their memory by adding their names to the Auschwitz project. 

I think we definitely need more options for parents.  There are people that are the product of donor sperm/egg and even donor embryo who know their biological parents and their "adoptive" parents.  We should be able to name the parent relationship and add as many parent combinations with families as we would like.  Or if we can't name the relationship, have an option for two biological parents (who don't necessarily have to be married to one another) and then unlimited options for non-biological parents.  This needs to be added ASAP!!!!  We pay a lot of money for this service, and this should really be a basic and relatively easy addition.

I think that as long as this was not called 'adoptive' it would also be a useful feature in the historic tree where historians are not in agreement about a persons parentage.  This is taking Geni way too long to implement.

It will be good to be supported. I have been waiting in Geni since 2008.

My suggestion, before adding this support please make a survey of other type of parents probably exist base on other country/culture/religion. Another easier way is similar to the comment by P.Wilson where don't name it specifically with "Adoptive". Its better we can add another parents and name that relationship.

In a related feature request (showing multiple parents: http://help.geni.com/entries/20475277-show-conflicting-parents-more... ), the idea is proposed of showing non-biological parent-child relationships with a "different line style" (e.g.: dashed line).

Start with your blood lines.  Once you have that tree in place, give yourself a "spouse" and name it  either "adoptive tree".  Now use that "spouse" to fill out the adoptive tree.  Repeat for anyone else who is adopted. 

I am an adopted child who has been reunited with biological mother and half-siblings, and for which reacquainted my adoptive father with birth mother. My adoptive mother is deceased and my adopted father remarried which gave me older step-siblings.  My adopted parents had also adopted a boy prior to me. My adopted parents and my biological mother plus her few sisters met at time of my adoption and my father with his 2nd wife have been in regular  contacts with each other.  My dad also became the grandfather of children born in his 2nd marriage which made me an aunt and now great aunt too.  Care to tell me how I am supposed to go through all that confusion whilst trying to do my blood lines.  I found this site purely by accident whilst searching a linkage of 1100 and happens to be my history, genetically, by 30 steps.  A source from whom I joined into had managed to trace back to there but I was curious in knowing more of this party/family so far back in history.

Excellent, I get it now thanks!

Iddo, Annelise is using Option 2 in http://wiki.geni.com/index.php/Adoption

Here is an example for a famous Eurasian in Hong Kong, Sir Robert Ho Tung.  He had no heir, so he adopted his brother's eldest son. 

http://www.geni.com/family-tree/index/4815566143470026453

Hi Anelise, I am interested in your 'alternate tree' option, but do not quite understand how it works. Could you please give a more detailed explanation, as I quite like to try it. In my tree the same person has two foster parents and two biological parents. At the moment, when I look at his tree, I can only see the foster parents and their biological children are mapped as this person's biological brothers. The only way to get to his biological parents seems to be to tupe them into the search field. Perhaps you approach will solve this.

The "alternate tree" option works great for those with adopted kids.  1. You give the adoptive child a "spouse".  I named mine "Adoptive tree".  2. Then you change the "spouse" gender to "unknown" this makes it very clear that there is no "error".  Now build the birth parent trees like any other tree. Try it.  I did for one of my relatives and it works like a charm.

How about foster child, stepchild an legitimate child?

Is the adoptive parents working  now?  My sister was legally adopted by my aunt, sister of my mom.  She, my sister, is currently linked to both, with a merge or tree conflict. Can she resolve her problem now so she can flag my aunt and uncle as her adoptive parents?

I agree!!

My wife's great-grandfather was adopted. I know who his biological parents were, and also know his adoptive parents. Please add this feature!!!

I also need this ability to add my adopted family.  I have currently not listed myself on one set because I have merge issues.  This needs to be fixed, please!

I recently joined Geni. I like the application and am having a great time filling in the tree. However my adoptive children's birth families are a crucial part of our family history, and I will have to move to another site if support for adoptive families isn't added soon.

Thanks so much Bjorn, that's brilliant

In the Relationship tab when editing a profile you will observe that the names on the parents is a pull-down menu. Just select the correct parent-set for your half brother and click save. If his mother is not added or you have to add her first as a spouse to your father. If she is unknown or you don't want her listed just add a profile temporary as your father spouse and delete her when you have selected the couple as your brothers parents.

When a spouse is added you have the option to define what kind of relationship it is (ex-wife etc).

Hi

I have a half brother and it lists my mother as his mother which is not true.  Is it possible to remove my mother as his father but keep my father intact?

Yes please add this feature. My son in law was adopted at birth, but has met his biological family & we would love to add them to the tree.

Many thanks.

Still no conclusion on adopted children??

The movement afoot to incorporate a method and means of identifying adopted children is strong.  I am not a programmer, but I think it would not be too difficult to incorporate this long overdue request.  This site is called Geni, but it is not limited to just genes, it also incorporated family history, and adoption is certainly a foundational part of a family history.  Please try to implement this feature into Geni.  Geni has proven to be an incredible tool with wonderful features, but this one praticular  is lacking and appears to be often requested.  Thank You.

I managed to add adoptive parents thru this suggestion, leaving a "conflict", but it's definitely time to make it easier... http://wiki.geni.com/index.php/Adoption

Please, add the support for the 'adoption' feature. Every other basic genealogy system out there seems to support it. Geni is a fantastic online application, but it should really be addressing this long overdue feature as a priority.

If I know the biological parents I put them in.

For example, I have a stepfather that adopted the mom's child. So for the parents I put the mom and "unknown". and the child comes from that union.  Then the stepfather is her second relationshp. But since the child is adopeted, the child has the stepfather's last name. And I put a note in "about" that the child was adopted by the stepfather. 

If the child is adopted and the parents are not known, I just put that in the notes too. 

I don't know what to do if the child was adopted by a new mom and dad, but the biological mom and dad are also known.  I suppose even though they are adopeted, they would biologically belong to the tree of their biological parents. That would have to be your call. It would sure be nice if we could add a second set of parents. Or put the child in two separate trees.  I think you could do that and then put notes in both of adopted child's profile.

My paternal grandfather was adobted. My tree is setup as his adoptive mother being his biological mother. Now that I have the info on his true biological parents, I would like to add them. Does anyone know how?

I agree, long overdue.  Children having a set of biological parents and a set of parents that raised them need a way to track both.  I have two adopted nephews and my son is adopted.  All three know the names and have met one or both of their biological parents.  By the way, this isn't a new thing to family trees, Geni you need to make this more of a priority.

Yes I agree, in particular in my family tree there are many instances of children having lost parents in the war and having been raised by foster parents. I would like to be able to add these to the tree. But another aspect that would interest me, although it is probably beyond what Geni is about, is friendship networks and some kind of 'closeness' indicator that allows you to associate any two individuals. This then would allow you to map, besides the family bonds, also the friendship bonds that go beyond family ties.

What about Foster Parents how would you add them to the tree?  Mom & Pop (Foster Parents) raised me threw the growing years along with the rebellious years.  I think they deserve a place in the tree they had me for almost 16 yrs and they are the ones I have been calling Mom & Pop for over 50 years.  My Parents & birth parents are all deceased

My brother has biological kids, plus an adopted child.  My brother is not the dad or the mom, so what can I do?

My brother has biological kids, plus an adopted child.  My brother is not the dad or the mom, so what can I do?

There should be a "biological parent" tab....as opposed to "adoptive"

MyHeritage shows in addition to "replace old parents by the new ones" in merge two more options: "current adopted and new biological" and "current biological and new adopted". Adding similar options in merge will solve the Adoptive parents problem, I think

Hello, Geni Administrators!  I have two adoptive parents and two siblings by them, and I have two birth parents, and five half-siblings by my adoptive parents.  Get on the ball and create an adoptive parent structure, or this place is useless to me.

The need for alternate parents is critical, yes, I agree and support it. However, the new feature should not be named "adoptive" parents because that is too culturally specific and limiting. We also have other reasons for needing to indicate more than one set of parents, and this varies between cultures and time periods. So perhaps just the ability to add an additional or alternate parent or set of parents.

I agree 100 percent. Having the adopted parents right in the same tree as the birth parents would be great. Even if some how the birth parents show on a different part of the tree as a duplicate (ie. a aunt and uncles adopt a niece) it could better reflect the dynamics of real families. If a tree branch is printed it would also properly show the family's dynamic.