next of kin
Emergency contact persons
Next of kin refers to a person's closest living relative or relatives, typically those who would inherit property or make decisions if the person dies or becomes incapacitated.
The phrase appears most often in legal, medical, and emergency contexts: The hospital contacted her next of kin.
It can mean a single person or a group: His next of kin are his three adult children.
Married partner
- parentMother or father
- siblingBrother or sister
- childPerson before puberty
- grandparentParent once removed
grandchild · nephew · niece · cousin · uncle · aunt · stepchild · half-sibling
One who receives legacy
- beneficiaryDesignated asset receiver
- estateProperty and grounds
- probateWill validation proceedings
- willFaculty of deliberate choice
testament · bequest · intestate · succession · executor · legacy · decedent · patrimony
Communication or physical touch
- notificationFormal notice given
- hospitalMedical treatment facility
- accidentUnintended harmful event
- traumaLasting psychological wound
critical condition · inform · reach · call · urgent · admission · ICU · emergency contact
Formal notice given
- consentVoluntary agreement given
- power of attorneyLegal authority for another's decisions
- authorizationFormal permission granted
- surrogateOne acting for another
proxy · healthcare directive · custody · guardianship · responsibility · documentation · identification · advocate
spouse
Married partner
grandparent · grandchild · nephew · niece · cousin · uncle · aunt · stepchild · half-sibling · adopted
heir
One who receives legacy
- beneficiaryDesignated asset receiver
- estateProperty and grounds
- probateWill validation proceedings
will · testament · bequest · intestate · succession · executor · legacy · decedent · patrimony · heirship
contact
Communication or physical touch
- notificationFormal notice given
- hospitalMedical treatment facility
- accidentUnintended harmful event
trauma · critical condition · inform · reach · call · urgent · admission · ICU · emergency contact · notify
notification
Formal notice given
- consentVoluntary agreement given
- power of attorneyLegal authority for another's decisions
- authorizationFormal permission granted
surrogate · proxy · healthcare directive · custody · guardianship · responsibility · documentation · identification · advocate · decision-maker
- death lawdeath certificate, death certificates, death tax, death penalty, death benefits
- estate planningexecutor, trust, beneficiary, will, probate
- Military Familiesmilitary spouse, military wife, military husband, military child, military brat
- familymother, father, parents, siblings, parent
- funeralsfuneral, burial, cremation, casket, coffin
- kinshipmother, father, sister, brother, children
next of kinstranger
Person not yet known
acquaintance · non-relative · outsider · complete stranger · third party