Merging a Name

Caution: Merges are permanent and cannot be undone.

To understand what happens when you merge two name records, consider this example involving name records for John and Walter.

In this example, the Walter name record is merged into the John record:

• Data contained in individual fields and not in snap-in record rows is either merged or added.
  • If Walter and John have different Name Types, Walter's Name Type is replaced with John's.
  • If Walter has a Middle Name entered, and John does not have one entered, Walter's Middle Name is used.
  • If Walter does not have a Race entered, but John has one entered, John's Race is used.
• Data contained in snap-in record rows is added.
  • If Walter and John each have a single record row in the Numbers snap-in, Walter's record row is inserted below John's record row in the Numbers snap-in.
• Events on calendars are added.
  • If Walter and John each have an event at the same time on the same date, both events appear on the calendar.

• Filing cabinet documents are added.
  • If Walter and John each have a document in the filing cabinet, Walter's document record row is inserted below John's document record row in the filing cabinet.

• Escrow funds on name records that are earmarked to specific case records are added.
  • If Walter has case-earmarked escrow funds, and John does not, Walter's earmarked escrow funds become John's earmarked escrow funds.
  • If Walter and John each have case-earmarked escrow funds, Walter's case-earmarked escrow funds are added to John's case-earmarked escrow funds.

In the above example, Walter's name record no longer exists, as the data is merged into John's name record.

Note: Name records that are data partitioned by name type cannot be merged with name records that are not data partitioned.

The following table provides a visual for the above example on how some fields are handled when performing a name merge. In the example, the Walter name record is being merged into the John name record.

Data Name	Walter's Data	John's Data | Final Merged | Data
Name	Walter	John	John
Name Type	Law Enforcement Officer	Judge	Judge
Middle Name	Wiley	None	Wiley
Race	None	White	White
Numbers	SSN: 000-00-0001	SSN: 000-00-0002	Active SSN: 000-00-0002 Inactive SSN: 000-00-0001
Calendar Events	Hearing 1/1/2017	Hearing 1/1/2017	Both events are added
Filing Cabinet Document	evidence.docx	trial.docx	trial.docx evidence.docx
Escrow Funds	$100	$0	$100
Escrow Funds	$100	$100	$200

How to Merge Names

1. Open the record you would like to merge. Caution: This is the record that will be deleted. All of its data will be merged INTO another record.
2. From a name record, Click the More dropdown at the top left of the Name Session and select Merge Name from the menu, or select File | Merge Name from the Menu toolbar. A search dialog pop-up box labeled Search Results will appear.
3. Type information about the record with which you will merge, and press Enter. Records matching your search criteria will be displayed.
4. If necessary, type more information in the search bar to narrow the list.
5. Select the record with which you will merge. A Confirm Merge dialog box will open.
6. Click Yes to confirm the merge. The records are merged.