Who is my next of kin? What does “next of kin” mean? Am I someone’s next of kin? Order of next of kin

At Whenn we believe it’s a good idea to look ahead and understand what happens when we die, who we will be responsible for, as well as who we will be responsible for us after death. We don’t give legal advice at Whenn. In fact, Whenn helps you with the non-legal parts of preparing for the practical side of death.

We’re thinking about next of kin especially in the context of legacy planning after death. We’ll start with the definition of “next of kin”. Then we’ll look at how this definition helps us work out who exactly our next of kin is. For that we’ll use the three next of kin questions.

In general, when it comes to working out next of kin, it’s good to remember that next of kin can change over the course of our lives. Another point to note is this: it’s easy to think that people die in order of age, with the oldest people dying first. In practice, it doesn’t always go that way. For this reason, try and keep a bit of space for thinking about what other situations could arise too.

The definition of Next of kin

In the UK, the term “next of kin” refers to the person who is legally considered to be the closest living relative of a person who has died. For practical reasons, this person is 18 years or older. This can include a spouse or partner, children, parents, siblings, or other relatives. Who is considered “next of kin” may determine who has the legal right to register a death, and make important decisions about a person's funeral arrangements, as well as who should be notified.

What is the order of next of kin? Who comes first?

This is the order of next of kin:

Spouse or civil partner

If there is no spouse or civil partner, next of kin is the closest blood or adoptive relative in the order:

Children - but not step-children and foster children

Parents

Siblings who share both parents, or their children

Siblings who share one parent, or their children

Grandparents

Aunts or uncles, or their children

If none of these exist, in the United Kingdom, the Crown, Duchy of Lancashire or Duke of Cornwall, will inherit. The Treasury Solicitor will deal with the estate.

Next of kin in practice: the three questions

Knowing the definition of next of kin is one thing. But who is my next of kin? What does this definition mean for me? And what do I have to do?

When you think about the question of next of kin in your own life, it’s worth looking at three questions.

We start with this one: 1) who am I likely to be responsible for in the event of their death? “Responsible”, in this case, means registering the death, taking legal responsibility for decisions taken after someone’s death, including their funeral, taxes, finances and belongings - in the months and years until everything is complete.

Question 1) Who am I likely to be responsible for in the event of their death?

We’re most likely to be responsible for parents, guardians, children, an aunt, uncle or older sibling.

Example: I’m Sarah, Whenn’s founder. I’m currently 38. I was the responsible person for my father after his death last year. I will most likely be responsible for my mum, possibly one of my siblings, and for my partner.

The next question is this:

Question 2) Who is likely to be responsible for me after my death?

The answers will be different depending on your age and the way your life is structured. It can be a difficult question to answer. It’s worth thinking about it and talking to family and friends to work it out.

Example: I am an adult, I have a partner but no children. In the coming years, the answer to “who is my next of kin” may change. If I were to die before my mum, she would most likely to be my next of kin. If my partner and I marry, my partner would be. If my partner and I split up and my mum is no longer with us, I will probably have to ask a friend or someone like a niece or a nephew in the next generation. However, if I were to die without an obvious person to as my next of kin, someone will end up doing it. It’s just worth thinking about who it might be, so you can give them a bit of warning and perhaps a few helpful notes. As the founder of Whenn, I would suggest having a Whenn account and sharing your Lists - which suppliers you use and a few important pieces of information - for them to reference after death.

Question 3) What happens if we don’t die in the statically expected order?

This might seem like a strange question, but it can be useful to understand some of the less likely things that can happen, and that can shock us if they do. It’s worth trying to keep a calm mindset whilst thinking these options through. We don’t want to dwell on these things happening; we just want to allow for the chance that they could because life often doesn’t quite go quite as planned.

Example 1: My spouse and I get married. At this point we become next of kin. However, we then get divorced. At the point of divorce, my ex-spouce is no longer next of kin. If I have adult children, they become my next of kin.

Example 2: My mum is most likely to die before me. But it is possible that - for any number of reasons - I could die before her. In that case, my mum becomes my next of kin after death and, if I were the person expected to be responsible for my mum after her death, someone else will do this job for her when the time comes.

Why are we thinking about all this?

At Whenn, the reason we want to think about who are next of kin are is this: We want to work out who will be responsible for us after our death so we can help them with this job. We don’t need to do a lot of preparation; a little goes a long way.

Whenn lets you note and share practical info about your life with next of kin so they can find, close and transfer our accounts e.g. the utility companies we use, where to find our cloud photo storage, car insurance providers, pensions. Things like that.

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