I'm thinking of creating an orphanage and had an idea where some of them become romantic with each other when they get older. I've never adopted yet in The Sims 2 but in The Sims 3 adopted sims were considered related so that's why I'm asking. Also, if they are considered related, could I use SimPE to change them, or would that mess things up?

Once a Sim is adopted into a family, they act like they were born into. So everyone who's considered a family member of the biological child of their adoptive parents, is also a family member of the adoptee. Like in real life - my adopted cousin is in my eyes the child of my uncle and aunt. I know she is adopted, but she became my cousin.

You can delete any family ties you want in SimPE without causing corruption. It may make the in-game family tree do look a bit strange but that's everything.

If you adopted them into the household then yes they are considered related to each other.

You can use the Sim Blender and remove family ties if you want to go that rout. http://www.simbology.com/smf/index.php?topic=20.0

Thank you both!

You could always use playables for the orphans and move them with the cat statue (I think this is the object, but it could be a painting?) Then they wouldn't have family ties. I did this once in my old neighborhood, but it was just with one child for story purposes. She still had her original family ties.

Inge's teleporter. It may be a shrub, a picture, or a cat statue, depending on which version you use. http://www.simlogical.com/sl/Sims2P...Teleporters.htm

No, any sim flagged as related only has family interactions not romantic ones.

Or conversely you could create 1-2 playable adults as the orphanage staff, then spawn orphans with the Tombstone of Life and Death. I don't think they would be considered family. But you would have no control over what these orphans would be like, regarding sex, name, appearance, personality etc. You'd just have to take whatever the game gives you. Not unlike a real orphanage, really.