Next of Kin

[kriskwery]

I'm 60, female, divorced, no kids, both parents dead. I have a will but wonder who is my legal next of kin. There are countless cousins out there and one blood relative aunt still surviving. What power, if any, does a next of kin have? Would the executors of my will have any duty to communicate with them? In the event of some horrible mishap, who would have the power to, say, allow a ventilator to be turned off ??

Can anybody advise or point me to a suitable website?

Cheers (most unmorbidly!)

[Buenchico]

There is no legal definition of 'next of kin'. You can nominate someone to be regarded as your next of kin (even if they're totally unrelated to you) by simply filling in a card and carrying it in your handbag.

You can download the card from here:
http://www.advicenow.org.uk/fileLibrary/pdf/Ne xt_of_Kin002.pdf

Chris

[kriskwery]

Hey, thanks for that. Printing it off now!