Can a child be sealed to grandparents?

anncalder

I have a dear friend whose young adult grandson took his own life a little over a year ago. I will call this grandson Jacob (not his real name). Jacob's mother has not been active in the church since she was a teenager. Jacob was never baptized and his parents are divorced. My friend was very close to Jacob. He lived in her home as a young child, and again when he was a senior in high school. My friend has asked her daughter if she and her husband could do Jacob's temple work, and the daughter has given her permission. They are currently waiting for that approval. They would also love to have Jacob sealed to them, but have not asked their daughter for permission since they don't know if it is possible. They have asked their bishop this question but have never received an answer. Are there situations where it is permitted for a child to be sealed to his grandparents?

DMS1737

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Sanra

@anncalder

Thank you for your question in the Community about sealing children to grandparents.

On occasion, you may need to link a person in Family Tree to grandparents or other foster parents for sealings to be performed. This is the easiest to do if you are working from the website, FamilySearch.org, as opposed to the Family Tree app or Family Tree Lite. 

Before you begin, please study the articles linked below to be sure you abide by temple policies. If you have questions, please contact Support.

Steps 

1. In Family Tree, add the person as a son or daughter to the parents he or she will be sealed to. 
   1. (Website steps:) In Family Tree, click Find and navigate to the child. Note the ID number.
   2. Use the Find option again to find a grandparent. In the search results, click the grandparent to bring up their summary card.
   3. Click Person. If the Details section is not open, click the Details tab.
   4. Scroll to the Family Members section.
   5. Under Spouses and Children, click Add Child.
   6. Click By ID Number and enter the ID of the child.
   7. Click Next and review possible matches.
   8. Click Add Match.
      • Note: It is possible in Family Tree to assign a person multiple sets of parents. Instructions for doing so are included in Related article titled: How do I add step, adopted, and foster children to parents in Family Tree?, below. 
2. Before reserving the ordinances, be sure that the parents involved in the sealing are marked in Family Tree as the Preferred parents. Once the sealing is complete, you can change this. 
   • Note: In Family Tree, beneath each parent-couple is a circle, followed by the label Preferred. To select the parents for the sealing, click the circle. 
3. Reserve and perform the ordinances.
4. If needed to preserve clarity or accuracy of the records, remove the parent-child relationship from Family Tree.
   • Note: If you do not want to remove the parent-child relationship from Family Tree, consider instead modifying it instead to include "Adoptive," "Foster," "Guardianship," or "Step"—whichever is most accurate. Instructions for doing so are included in Related articles below. 

Related articles

Policies for sealing deceased children to deceased parents

How do I add step, adopted, and foster parents to a child in Family Tree?

How do I add step, adopted, and foster children to parents in Family Tree?

How do I correct parent-child relationships in Family Tree?

How do I specify biological, step, adopted, and foster relationships in Family Tree?

We hope this is helpful.