---
title: "Payer and Child are Same Person"
slug: "payer-and-child-are-same-person"
updated: 2023-12-05T15:18:32Z
published: 2023-12-05T15:18:32Z
canonical: "www.procaresupport.com/payer-and-child-are-same-person"
---

> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://www.procaresupport.com/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Payer and Child are Same Person

What to do when the same person is accidentally set up as both a parent (payer) and child on an account.

## Overview

This situation could occur if a parent and child have similar names. When you add the child you may get a notice of a possible match. If you happen to accidentally select the parent as the match, you end up with the child and parent being the same person. Another possibility is if you used the *Remove Duplicate Person* utility and accidentally merged the parent and child into one person.

## Symptom / Solution

The symptom is if you change the phone number, address, etc. on the parent, the same information changes on the child. You need to create either a new child or parent (Payer).

## Keep the Child Record

Keep the existing child record if the child has time card entries, enrollment history, immunization history, etc.

1. Add the correct parent/payer as a New Person on the *Edit Account* screen: ![Image](https://s3.amazonaws.com/cdn.procaresoftware.com/pdfs/Support+Site+Images/Desktop/Family+%26+Child+Information/Payer+and+Child+are+Same+Person_122023_1.png)
2. They will now be the last payer listed. Move the new payer (the one you want as the Primary Payer) up to the first position using the green up arrow (lower left).
3. Select the old payer (the one you no longer want) and click *Remove*.

## Steps to Keep the Payer Record

This is a good option if you just added the child and they don’t have any time card entries yet, etc.

1. [Remove the Child](/procare-desktop/docs/when-to-remove-a-child)
2. Add the correct Child by [Adding a Child](/procare-desktop/docs/add-child-to-account) as a New Person