Family & Relations Management

Manage relationships between members, including family, care, and administrative relationships.

Organize member relationships by linking guardians to dependents, enabling members to manage profiles, event registrations, payments, and activity on behalf of others.

Overview

The Relations Management feature allows you to create relationships between members where one member (the guardian) can manage another member's (the dependent's) profile, activities, and payments. This flexible system supports many use cases:

  • Parents managing children - Traditional parent-child relationships for youth programs
  • Adult children caring for elderly parents - Manage elderly parent's club activities and registrations
  • Spousal relationships - Spouses managing each other's memberships
  • Caregivers supporting disabled members - Professional or family caregivers helping members of any age
  • Administrative delegation - Club staff managing memberships on behalf of members
  • Family support - Siblings, family members helping each other with club activities

Relationship Types

When creating a relationship, choose the type that best describes it:

Family Relationships

  • Parent - Parent managing child's membership
  • Adult Child - Adult child managing elderly parent's activities
  • Spouse - Married or partnered members managing each other
  • Sibling - Brothers or sisters in supportive relationships
  • Legal Guardian - Court-appointed guardians
  • Family Member - General family relationship

Care Relationships

  • Caregiver - Professional or family caregiver providing support

Administrative

  • Administrator - Club staff managing on member's behalf
  • Representative - Authorized representative or proxy

Other

  • Other - Any other relationship type

No Age Restrictions

Unlike many systems, there are no age restrictions for relationships. Any member can be a guardian or dependent based on their actual needs and circumstances. This flexibility supports:

  • Elderly care - Adult children managing aging parents' memberships
  • Disability support - Caregivers helping members of any age
  • Administrative assistance - Staff helping members who need support
  • Peer support - Members helping each other regardless of age

Note: The system still displays a "Child" badge for members under 15 for informational purposes, but this doesn't limit relationship creation.

Creating Relationships

To create a relationship:

  1. Navigate to Members in the sidebar
  2. Click on a member's profile
  3. Scroll to the Family Relationships card in the right column
  4. Click Add Relationship
  5. Select the member from the dropdown
  6. Choose the relationship type from the grouped options
  7. Optionally check Set as primary relationship for the main relationship
  8. Click Create Relationship

The current member will become the guardian, and the selected member will be the dependent.

Guardian Permissions

When you create a guardian-dependent relationship, the guardian automatically gets all permissions by default:

  • ✅ Edit Profile - Update the dependent's personal information, contact details, and photo
  • ✅ Register for Events - Sign the dependent up for activities, teams, and programs
  • ✅ Make Payments - Pay for subscriptions, event fees, and merchandise on the dependent's behalf
  • ✅ View Activity History - See the dependent's event attendance and engagement

These permissions apply regardless of the relationship type or members' ages.

Primary Relationship

Each dependent can have one primary relationship - typically the main guardian or care provider responsible for the member.

Benefits of setting a primary relationship:

  • Clearly identifies the main point of contact
  • Prioritizes which guardian receives notifications (future feature)
  • Helps organize relationships when multiple guardians exist

How to set a primary relationship:

  1. When creating a relationship, check the Set as primary relationship box
  2. If another relationship is already primary, it will automatically be unmarked
  3. Only one relationship can be primary at a time per dependent

Viewing Relationships

Relationships are displayed in the Family Relationships card on each member's profile:

As Guardian (Managing Others):

You'll see a Children & Dependents section listing:

  • Dependent's name and photo
  • Relationship type (Parent, Caregiver, Spouse, etc.)
  • Primary relationship indicator (if applicable)

As Dependent (Being Managed):

You'll see a Guardians section listing:

  • Guardian's name and photo
  • Relationship type
  • Permission badges showing what the guardian can manage (Profile, Payments, etc.)

Removing Relationships

To unlink a guardian and dependent:

  1. Go to either member's profile
  2. Find the relationship in the Family Relationships card
  3. Click Remove next to the relationship
  4. Confirm the removal

Note: Removing a relationship does not delete the member profiles - it only removes the link between them.

Frequently Asked Questions

Q: Can members manage each other mutually? A: Yes! You can create bidirectional relationships. For example, spouses can each be guardians for the other, allowing both to manage each other's profiles and activities.

Q: Can one dependent have multiple guardians? A: Absolutely. A dependent can have multiple guardians (both parents, multiple caregivers, family members, etc.), but only one can be marked as "primary."

Q: What about child members under 15? A: The system still recognizes and displays child members with a badge, but this is for information only. The relationship system works for all ages.

Q: Can I create relationships for administrative purposes? A: Yes! Use the "Administrator" or "Representative" relationship types when club staff need to manage memberships on behalf of members.

Q: What permissions do guardians have? A: By default, guardians have all permissions (profile, events, payments, activity history). These can be customized per relationship if needed.

Q: Can members have their own login accounts? A: Yes! Dependents can optionally have their own Clerk accounts to access the member portal. The guardian relationship enables others to help manage on their behalf, but they can also self-manage if given access.

Use Case Examples

Elderly Care

Scenario: Hans (72) is an active member but needs help with online registrations. Solution: His daughter Kirsten creates a relationship as "Adult Child" and can register Hans for events and manage his payments.

Disability Support

Scenario: Maria has a cognitive disability and attends programs with caregiver support. Solution: Her caregiver creates a "Caregiver" relationship and manages Maria's event registrations and profile.

Spousal Support

Scenario: Søren and Anne are married and want to manage each other's memberships. Solution: Create bidirectional "Spouse" relationships so both can help each other with club activities.

Family Membership

Scenario: The Jensen family has multiple children in youth programs. Solution: Parents create "Parent" relationships with each child and can manage all their registrations from one account.

Tips & Best Practices

✨ Choose appropriate relationship types - Use specific types (Adult Child, Caregiver) rather than "Other" for better organization

👨‍👩‍👧 Use primary relationships - Mark the main contact person as primary for better organization

🔍 Review relationships regularly - Check relationship links when members update their information or situations change

📧 Keep guardian emails current - Ensure guardians receive important communications about their dependents' activities

🌍 Consider privacy - Only create relationships when there's a legitimate need for one member to manage another

Need help? Contact support or visit the Member Management guide for more information.