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Show a remarriage or step-family

A remarriage is drawn as a second couple line from the same person, and the children of each partnership hang from their own line. This article also explains how to link a step-parent to a step-child.

2 min readChecked 16 October 2026

Each partnership in a genogram has its own couple line, with its own status and dates, and the children of a partnership hang from that line alone. A step-family is therefore drawn by giving one person two or more couple lines and by attaching each child to the correct one. The dates of every partnership should be recorded, because the order of marriages, separations and births often matters when a remarried family is assessed.

Procedure

  1. 1

    Record the end of the first partnership on its couple line, as described in Show a marriage, separation or divorce.

  2. 2

    Hover over the person who remarried, and click Partner on the ring. The new partner is joined to the person by a second couple line.

  3. 3

    If a child was born to the new partnership, hover over either partner of the new couple, and click Child.

  4. 4

    If a child was born to the first partnership, hover over the former partner, and click Child.

  5. 5

    To link a step-parent, press C, click the step-parent, and then click the step-child. A card opens on the Family tab.

  6. 6

    Select Step-parent in Parent type, and then click the option that names the step-parent as a parent of the child.

Tip

The key on the canvas lists the step-parent line whenever the chart uses it. Because the line is not part of the published notation, mention it in any written account that accompanies the chart.

Note

The ring adds a child to the most recent partnership of the person under the pointer. A child of the first partnership is therefore added from the former partner, provided that the former partner has no later partnership on the chart. If both former partners have later partners, neither the ring nor Add child attaches a new child to the first partnership.

Lines in a step-family

A step-family usually combines an ended partnership, a current partnership and one or more step-parent links. The lines below are those most often needed.