Next of kin
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Next of kin is the term used to describe a person's closest living blood relative or relatives.
In many legal systems, rights regarding inheritance and substitute decision making capacity (for example, in a medical emergency) where no clear will or instructions have been given, and the person has no spouse, flow to their closest relative of the age of majority, usually a parent or a sibling, but occasionally an adult child. However, there are people without any close adult relatives and, in such a case, decision making power often flows to a first cousin, aunt, uncle, or grandparent.
For example, if a person dies intestate, the laws of most jurisdictions require the estate to be distributed to the person's spouse and/or children. However, if there are none of these, the estate can often be distributed to the next closest group of living relatives, whether they be parents, grandparents, cousins, aunts & uncles, or even second cousins in extreme cases. If a person dies intestate with no identifiable next of kin, the person's estate generally escheats (i.e., legally reverts) to the government.
Similarly, the decisions about funeral arrangements for an unmarried person without children are also made by the next closest relative.
In cases of medical emergency, where a person is incapable (either legally because of age or mental infirmity, or because they are unconscious) of making decisions for themselves and they have no spouse or children, medical decisions can be made by the next of kin in preference to the wishes of medical personnel.
The inability of persons who are not in a legal marriage to make decisions with respect to the care of a live-in partner have resulted in many jurisdictions giving live-in partners rights equivalent to a spouse in such situations, even though most jurisdictions still do not require non-spouses to be made beneficiaries of estates (it is improper in most jurisdictions to disinherit a spouse). The inability of same-sex partners to have rights with respect to a partner's medical care or funeral arrangements over and above those of the next of kin was one of the main reasons behind litigation to require gay marriage or its equivalent.
For the purposes of next of kin, adopted children are treated as blood relatives. However, relatives by marriage are never considered next of kin.
[edit] External links
USA Disaster Help Listed under NGOs
USA Governments Portal Firstgov.gov Listed Under Family Services
Red Cross Disaster Safe Welfare Information and Family Reunification Services
Here is a short list of American States and Government sites where you can find the Next of Kin Registry:
State of Alabama Listed Under Emergency Services
State of Alaska Listed Under Other Public Safety Resources
State of Arizona Listed Under Family, Health and Safety
State of Arkansas Listed Under Federal Information and Services
State of California Listed Under Quick Hits
Washington DC Listed Under Emergency Information
State of Delaware Listed Under Emergency Assistance
State of Florida Listed Under Hot Topics
State of Georgia
Guam Homeland Security Listed Under First Responders
State of Hawaii Listed Under Other Helpful Links and Family & Children
State of Idaho Listed Under Health, Family & Public Safety
State of Indiana Listed Under See Also
State of Iowa Listed Under Public Safety Services
State of Kansas Listed Under Safety & Security
Commonwealth of Kentucky Listed Under Resources
State of Louisiana Listed Under Family Life
State of Maine Listed Under Emergency Preparedness & Management
State of Maryland
Commonwealth of Massachusetts Listed Under Vital Records
State of Minnesota Listed Under Additional Resources
State of Mississippi Listed Under Living in Mississippi
State of Missouri Listed Under Hotlines and Emergency Numbers
State of Montana Listed Under Consumer and Citizen Services
State of Nebraska Listed Under Health & Safety
State of Nevada Listed Under Nevada Non Profit Organizations
State of New Jersey Listed Under Crisis Centers, Counseling
State of New York Listed Under Emergency Preparedness and Response
State of North Carolina Listed Under Family Preparedness
State of North Dakota Listed Under State and National Links
State of Ohio Listed Under Family Millstones
State of Oregon Listed Under Other info
Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Listed Under Citizen Services
State of South Carolina Listed Under Related Links
State of Texas
State of Vermont Listed Under Health Information & Services
Commonwealth of Virginia Listed Under Homeland Security
State of Washington Listed Under Preparing for Death
State of Wisconsin Listed Under Home Land Security
State of Wyoming Listed Under Fast Access
