What happens to the abandoned records of living persons over time (as they pass away)?
I have entered a number of family members, all of whom are living. I know that this information is visible only to my account.
If I should die sooner rather than later, or no longer participate in Family Search, will those records I've entered eventually be marked deceased at some time in the future? For example, birth year plus, say, 110 years?
I would hope that such a designation would eventually happen so that the information I entered will enter the public database, perhaps to be merged with other's record of these same individuals.
Answers
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This article is available in the Help Center
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There is no automatically marking anyone deceased after 110 years currently, so anyone living and in your private space will stay living and private when you pass away before them. They will be locked away and not be seen under the current system (which could change some day?) Familysearch is not the best place to work with living individuals, using a private software on your own computer is a good place for keeping track of living individuals. Remember the living in your private area are often just a copy of another person, such as I have a copy of my living husband and he has a copy of me. I have our children listed but not more living such as my siblings, their spouses, or my cousins as most of them have their own accounts.
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I would like to at least have the ability to designate our own profile of our self as deceased at some future date based on our dob. Opt in or opt out.
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What I'd hate to see be locked up forever is the information and memories I've entered for aunts, uncles, and cousins of varying degree long after they've passed, some of which is from personal materials like old photos and diaries.
I'm not worried about what happens to my account after I pass. It's that I'd like this currently personal information to become part of the public record after each of these individuals passes away, rather than leaving it stranded in a dead account that no one has access to.
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this is a topic that has been discussed for years
as far as I know - there currently is no feature / option that automatically makes public - data for living people as they become deceased.
Its been discussed - but dont hold your breath waiting for FS to implement it.
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@MaileLoveland This policy is restrictive toward Family Group collaboration other than as discussed in: https://www.familysearch.org/en/help/helpcenter/article/what-happens-to-memories-submitted-by-a-deceased-user
https://www.familysearch.org/en/blog/whats-new-in-familysearch-2023
The section -New Family Tree Features - states clearly that these collaboration restrictions will be removed in 2023! This is great news. @Marc955 hang on through 2023 ... I'll try as well...
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Marc955 I'm not quite sure if the "aunts, uncles, and cousins of varying degree" you are talking about are still alive, but if they are you need to get all of that information, memories, photos, etc, copied to a new location where it is easier to access. FamilySearch is NOT the proper site to collect information on living people. If you pass it will all be lost unless you have given your login information to another. I recommend you copy it all to a free Ancestry account. Yes, you can build a tree for free in Ancestry. And why Ancestry? First, as stated, you can build and edit tree for using a free guest account. Second, you can share it with select other members, giving read access to living people. (Can't share living people in FS.) Third, Ancestry has a process by which a member can apply to take over the account of a deceased person.
I have ALL my work in both Ancestry and FamilySearch, by the way, and have multiple trees in Ancestry shared with upwards of 25 relatives.
Edit: I would like to add that I do not recommend putting information about living people on the internet ANYWHERE. However, if you must, then Ancestry will give you a free viable option which dances between the need for privacy and the desire to share.
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I'm not trying to use FS as a family info archive site.
Just as I've been the recipient of family information provided by others here that I've linked to my family and learned from, I'd like others--who I don't even know and may or may not be related--to eventually be able to incorporate the material I've entered into their family trees. I want to be able to "pay it forward."
To do that, under current policies someone will have to note and record the eventual death of these individuals using my account (or a collaborating one) if I too have passed on. Unfortunately, those most interested in our family relations are all seniors--many with limited internet skills, none of the younger generations have shown much interest.
It saddens me that my efforts will likely be orphaned some day and I wish there was some way to remedy that.
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Marc955 I am not sure there is any way to share information about living people with those you don't know, other than to make it public and put it on FaceBook or something. And that is a TERRIBLE thing to do. I do not worry about living. I do not track births, marriages and other significant events of children or grandchildren of my siblings and cousins. That is not my purpose or my domain. That is work for someone in the future. And I don't lose any sleep over that either. We are the most documented generation in history, and it is likely most if not ALL be online 100 or 150 years from now.
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@Marc955 if you use the upcoming features to share your information and memories you have inherited - then if you pass - it sounds like that 'family group' will still retain access. Maybe check out Family Groups in Help Center ... You can have up to 10 groups currently..
If you don't like that option you can certainly store data in your GEDCOM/3rd party tree management application and pass that on to someone you trust, a local history/genealogy society, publish your information - or as mentioned you can investigate other solutions/platforms.
The other thing - I don't think has been mentioned - FamilySearch retains access to anything you submit as well. This indicates that FamilySearch - using their license (granted by you) if they chose to - at some future point could reattach/expose any data you upload (I suppose by volunteers or possibly programmatically). This is sort of speculative - because I don't know if they are doing so (in the background) already.
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