Last reviewed: October 2026.
SurgeTK builds one household from each Redtail family. Unless you tell it otherwise, everyone linked in that family comes across: spouses, children, grandchildren, parents, and other dependents. SurgeTK works best with two clients per household. Children and other dependents should not be household members.
The Family members setting in Redtail Sync Filters keeps chosen relatives out. This article explains why children appear, how to turn the setting on, and how to remove children that are already in SurgeTK.
Why children come across
A Redtail sync reads contacts in two passes.
First it reads each contact and applies your Contact Categories and Contact Statuses filters. Contacts that pass become clients.
Then it adds the other members of each client's Redtail family, so that spouses come across even when their own category is not a client category.
The second pass ignores Contact Categories. It applies Contact Statuses only in Denylist mode. Children usually carry the same statuses as their parents, so a status filter cannot tell them apart.
Redtail stores a relationship on every family member, such as Spouse, Child, or Grandchild. The Family members setting uses that relationship, so you change nothing in Redtail.
How to keep children and dependents out
In SurgeTK, go to Settings, then Integrations. On the Redtail card, click Sync Filters. The window is called Redtail Sync Filters.
Find the Family members card, below Contact Statuses. It reads "Which relatives linked in a client's Redtail family stay out of the household."
Tick the relationships to keep out, for example Child and Grandchild.
Click Save Filters.
Remove any children already in your households. See How to remove a member from a household below. The setting stops new imports only.
Run a normal sync from the Redtail card. Leave Re-read every contact unticked.
Which relationships are offered
The list always offers Child, Grandchild, and Other.
After a sync finishes cleanly, the list also shows the relationship names your own Redtail families use.
Spouse and partner relationships are never offered. The family pass exists to bring spouses across.
Nothing ticked is the default. Everyone linked in the family then comes across.
What the setting does
The card says: "Everyone linked in a client's Redtail family comes across unless their relationship is ticked here. Ticked relationships are not imported. Members already in SurgeTK are not removed, and an excluded member's own accounts stop syncing."
A linked family member with a ticked relationship is not imported, whatever their category or status.
A member already in SurgeTK is not removed. They keep updating on every sync until you delete them.
An excluded member's accounts stop syncing. SurgeTK only pulls accounts for people it holds as clients. If a child owns a 529 or UTMA account that you want in SurgeTK, move the account to the parent's contact in Redtail first.
The head of household has no relationship in Redtail, so the head always comes across.
The setting applies to linked family members only. A child whose own Redtail category and status pass your Contact Categories and Contact Statuses filters still imports as a client in their own right. Use those two filters for that case.
After a sync, open the run's What changed details on the Imports page. The Sync filters card shows "Family members kept out by relationship" with a count.
Disconnecting Redtail clears this setting with the other Sync Filters. Set it again before the first sync after you reconnect.
How to remove a member from a household
Open the household.
Find the member and choose Delete.
Confirm in the Delete Client window.
If the member owns accounts, assets, liabilities, or insurance policies, SurgeTK blocks the delete and lists the items. The window changes to "Cannot Delete: Linked Data Exists". Delete or reassign those items first.
If a child owns accounts you want to keep, such as a 529 or UTMA plan, move the account to the parent's contact in Redtail before removing the child. An account owned by a removed child stops syncing.
A deleted member stays deleted. SurgeTK lists every Redtail contact you delete under Sync Filters › Deleted contacts, and the sync leaves them out, on a normal sync and on Re-read every contact, until you click Restore there. Save the Family members setting as well, so that a child linked to a family later is not imported. The card's Restore all button brings every deleted contact back at once and queues a full sync, so use Restore on the single row when you want only one member back.
Contacts deleted before October 2026 are not on that list until SurgeTK adds them. If one of them comes back after a sync, delete it again. It then stays out.
If many children are already in SurgeTK, contact [email protected]. SurgeTK support can remove the excluded relatives for you in one pass and will show you the list first.
Why the child's name appears in the household name
The household list names a household after its first two members in alphabetical order, by last name then first name. If a child is a member, the child's name can appear in place of a spouse. Removing the child from the household fixes the name.
If you prefer to use a Redtail status instead
A status Denylist also reaches linked family members. This path needs a change in Redtail and is only useful when the children carry a status that no spouse carries.
In Redtail, create a contact status for dependents, for example Child. Assign it to every child and dependent. Redtail's bulk action Change Contact Status can do this for many contacts at once.
In SurgeTK, open Sync Filters, click Refresh so the new status appears, make sure Contact Statuses shows Denylist, tick the new status, and click Save Filters. A note appears: "Skipped statuses are also left out of a client's household."
Remove the children already in SurgeTK, then run a normal sync.
Common mistakes
Expecting the Family members setting to remove children that are already in SurgeTK. It stops new imports only. Delete existing members by hand.
Expecting a deleted child to come back after a change in Redtail. Deleted contacts stay out until you restore them under Deleted contacts in Sync Filters.
Ticking a child's status in an Allowlist. An Allowlist does not block linked family members. Only a Denylist does.
Selecting or clearing categories. Contact Categories does not affect linked family members.
Changing Household Lifecycle from Redtail. It only controls whether SurgeTK suggests archiving a household, or archives it, when every member is deceased or no longer a client. It removes no one.
Ticking Re-read every contact. It re-reads every contact and family and re-applies your filters. Contacts you deleted stay out. Use it only when SurgeTK support asks.
Related articles
Syncing with Redtail: connection, sync operation, filter configuration, and troubleshooting.
Sync Filters: Control Which CRM Records Come Into SurgeTK: full filter reference for Redtail and Zoho.