Next of kin

What it means

A phrase that appears on forms far more often than it appears in statutes, and it means something slightly different every time. On a motor vehicle affidavit it usually means whoever the intestacy rules would send the property to. In a hospital it usually means whoever may make a decision. Neither is a definition you can carry from one office to another.

It is not a rank you hold. It is a description of where you sit in a list that the law writes, and the list changes with who else is alive.

Why it matters

Forms ask you to sign as next of kin without telling you who qualifies, and signing when somebody closer is alive is how a transfer gets undone later.

Being next of kin is not the same as being entitled to anything: a person can be the closest relative and still inherit nothing, because a will or a beneficiary designation decided it first.

When you are likely to meet it

• On a motor vehicle affidavit that asks the next of kin to sign on behalf of the estate.
• At a hospital or a coroner's office deciding who may authorize something.
• When a form offers no other category for the person actually doing the work.

How this varies by state

Who counts as next of kin, and in what order, is set by each state's intestacy statute.

Related terms

• AffidavitA written statement you sign swearing it is true, usually in front of a notary.
• Affidavit of heirshipA sworn statement of who a person's heirs are, recorded in the land records where no probate established it.
• Beneficiary vs heirA beneficiary is named in a document. An heir is designated by statute when nothing names anybody.
• Claiming successorThe person who signs a small-estate affidavit and collects the property.
• DistributeeA person entitled to receive property from an estate — the word statutes use where a family would say heir.
• HeirSomeone entitled to inherit under state law when there is no will — not simply a relative.
• IntestateDying without a valid will, so the estate passes by the state's own rules rather than by anybody's wishes.
• Personal representativeThe neutral term for whoever is authorized to act for an estate, whether named in a will or appointed by a court.
• Sole heirThe only person entitled to an estate — a status several shortcuts depend on, and one families claim too readily.

Sahvelo guidance that uses this

• If there is no will