Actually there is a way to do it on Ancestry trees. I have been working exclusively on Ancestry.com for several years and only moved to desktop software about four months ago for the reporting functionality.
In the online tree, the function that allows you to attach and detach relationships is sort of hidden, so I will try to walk you through how to adjust the relationships on an individual within the online version of the tree.
IN ANCESTRY.COM online tree:
Go to the personal profile screen of the individual you are working with.
Under the name and date of birth/death at the top of the page is a "Edit this Person" button. Click on that and a window opens that has several tabs. Click on the one that says "Relationships"
From this window, you can "Remove" a relative, which detaches the relationship without removing the person from your tree. It just removes the relationship between the two people.
You can also change the relationship of a parent to "Step", "Adoptive", "Foster", "Guardian", "Private" or "Unknown" (I may have missed one of the options, but it gives you an idea). There is a similar option for spouse that lets you change the relationship to "Partner", "Friend", and several other options.
From this screen you can also add alternate parents and select the nature of the relationship, add spouse/partner, or add children. If you click on the "Add" button the pop-up gives you the option to "Select from List" or enter the data for a new person to the tree.
You can't do any merging of individuals on the tree, but you can attach and detach relationships or change a relationship from the default "biological" parent or "spouse".
In the online tree, the function that allows you to attach and detach relationships is sort of hidden, so I will try to walk you through how to adjust the relationships on an individual within the online version of the tree.
IN ANCESTRY.COM online tree:
Go to the personal profile screen of the individual you are working with.
Under the name and date of birth/death at the top of the page is a "Edit this Person" button. Click on that and a window opens that has several tabs. Click on the one that says "Relationships"
From this window, you can "Remove" a relative, which detaches the relationship without removing the person from your tree. It just removes the relationship between the two people.
You can also change the relationship of a parent to "Step", "Adoptive", "Foster", "Guardian", "Private" or "Unknown" (I may have missed one of the options, but it gives you an idea). There is a similar option for spouse that lets you change the relationship to "Partner", "Friend", and several other options.
From this screen you can also add alternate parents and select the nature of the relationship, add spouse/partner, or add children. If you click on the "Add" button the pop-up gives you the option to "Select from List" or enter the data for a new person to the tree.
You can't do any merging of individuals on the tree, but you can attach and detach relationships or change a relationship from the default "biological" parent or "spouse".