General Chat

When mil went in hospital and nurse asked for next of kin was told my daughter was as i am only related by marriage OH has pasted away Val

Zoe makes an interesting comment, which I never knew about, regarding a divorced spouse remaining your next of kin. Would this still apply I wonder, If you had reverted back to your maiden name after the divorce..........would anyone know the answer to this please? Don't want my ex dictating what happens to me thank you! Jen

thanks Esme - in truth I don't want either sibling to have anything I have worked hard for as they haven't had the same aspirations and I know they will sell rather than keep!! But need to decide who gets what!! xx

Sue there's a difference between naming children in a will and teh next of kin scenario. if you die without a will (whats called Intestate) then the administration of your estate will fall to your next of kin. When someone dies intestate then in order to 'prove' their estate (which mean to sort of the debts, pay the bills and divide the money etc) then you have to apply for a Probate - which means swearing an affidavit that you will pay debts and divide the estate according to law. The law follows the Next of Kin route to decide who can apply for this (or if being done by a solicitor, on whose behalf it can be applied for) If you leave a Will then there's no need for them to pay attention to the next of kin as you have already expressed your wishes for what happens to your estate. if you choose to leave out one of your children from your Will the only way they can contest the Will is if they believe you wrote it under duress or were of unsaound mind etc etc which is why they require you to have two witnesses watch you read and sign the documents. If you've made a Will already leaving a child out then you don't have to change it. If, God forbid, one of your children should die before you then you should rewrite your Will (or you put in a clause in your current Will stating if X dies then their share should go to Y) Zoe (your estate, by the way, is anything that wholly belongs to you - not just property, and also includes your debts)

Sounds like you should be making a will Diana ...................... if the will is straight forward (nothing left in trust etc.) you don't need a solicitor. You can just buy a will form, follow the instructions and have it witnessed. Costs you about three quid and settles arguements............ You can just write it and have it witnessed but the will form gives you useful guidelines so you know that you have done it right. :-))))))))))))))))))))

Next of kin merely refers to the closest related by law-if siblings are involved they are equal in inheritance unless specified otherwise.An appointed executor does not have to be a member of the family and certainly does not mean he/she is necessarily a beneficiary-they are merely an appointed person you trust to make sure your wishes are carried out.

Chelsea-answer to your question is yes-unless you state in a will that your estate goes specifiacally to one sibling or discounts a particular sibling

Thanks Zoe and Sue no probs mate hijack away!! xx

Pink. Thanks for putting this thread on as it has cleared a lot up for myself also. Alter When you say you can leave a child's name out of the will for being next of kin.Could that child go to court and contest the next of kin/will as I do not want my eldest child to be my next of kin. Sue ps Pink sorry to hijack your thread.

Pink after your mother it would pass to your siblings, or if they have died their offspring in equal parts. e.g. if you have two siblings its 50/50 if one of them has died leaving two children it will be 50% to surviving sibling and 25% to each of the other siblings children. But you have to leave a will if you want someone discounted - I have a will that states under no circumstances shall my father be acknowledged as a relation of mine if my mother dies at the same time as me (she currently gets the lot) - therefore they should follow the rules of inheritance regarding my brothers children and/or their children Its quite complex - do you want me to hunt out the booklet I have and send it on? Z xx (off to watch BB - PM me if you want it)

Alter - my point is I have no children and no husband so if I die intestate and my mother has died will it automatically get split between my siblings?

the executor or allocated next of kin by a dying relative holds no legal basis- next of kin is next of kin,if they are adults. Spouse first Child second( includes children of predeceased cildren taking their place) parent third being the oldest child or youngest is irrelevant i n terms of inheritance....a nominated child doesnt give them an advantage- unless certain next of kin are purposefully excluded by name in a will......if a person dies intestate the estate goes to all children equally,and that includes natural children .

if you die intestate it follows what they think is a natural pattern when Buster died techinically his next of kin were his three children but as they were under 18 it passed to the next which was my Mum. She didn't want to handle the estate so it went to me to sort it all. (he wasnt married to kids Mum so she was out of the equation except when it came to trust funds and pensions) I think it is: Spouse Children (if over 18) Grandchildren if all children deceased Parents Siblings Parents siblings patents siblings children I have the probate book somewhere with the list in it if you'd like me to hunt it out. Anyway - if you died intestate at the moment it would automatically fall to your Mother to handle your estate as best as she sees fit - so MAKE A WILL theres normally a survival clause too to stop the next of kin being killed off to gain control or control passing to the worng person if you and your next of kin go at the same time. They have to survive you by 28 days example scenario. Rich child dies in car accident with mother and they are survived by siblings and a stepfather, the 28 day clause prevents the estate passing to the next of kin (the mother) and then to her next of kin (the stepfather0 - it would go to the siblings as she didn't live 28 days longer than child. Z Hope i'm making sense - I'm better at answering direct questions on it than explaining it xx

OK Deanna you win!! You can have all my debts when i die!! :o)

What's wrong with you?? I told you.... MEeeeee.. If I'm the one named as your next of kin, I can fight the others!!# So, think about it, I'm off to bed. Good night all. Deanna X

Hiya Pink, it can be whoever you want... when Nan went into hospital earlier this yr, she refused point blank to tell her three daughters... and she named me and my sister as her next of kin.

I've always put Bro down as next of kin anyway as parents unable to hear!! Just was thinking who my legal one would be if I died intestate (sp??)

thought it worth me pointing out that for those of you who have been divorced your ex will remain your next of kin unless you formally declare them not to be. It's one of the peculiarities of the British legal system. It also applies to you dying intestate - the ex will still be first in line to inherit the lot unless you make a will following your separation. My Mum has a signed affidavit (??) to say he's not hers any more - and I have a matching one too saying that basicaly they can choose anyone in the world other than him to make decisions about me should the need ever arise. I wanted it to say I divorce him but apparently to do that to your parent you have to go to court and he's not worth the wasted money.

If you go to hospital you get asked who your next of kin is but you get to choose who it is. It's basically whoever you what notified first if anything happens to you. I thinkyou can nominate anyone to be your next of kin but I would ask that person if they mind first.

my sister is my next of kin Pink but she is 19n years older than me so might have to change it eventually