Also known as: kins · kinsman · kinswoman · kinsfolk · next of kin · kindred · blood relatives
Written by attorneys · grounded in primary & secondary sources — see below
Blood relatives of a decedent or transferor who succeed to property under intestacy statutes or governing instruments. Language in a donative instrument designating such persons as beneficiaries does not create or presumptively create a reversionary interest in the transferor.
Kieran Kelly executes a will leaving his estate to his next of kin. After his death the probate court applies the governing instrument directly to those relatives without presuming any reversion in Kelly's estate. The designated kin therefore receive the property outright.
Maria Lopez funds a revocable trust naming her heirs at law as remainder beneficiaries. Upon her death the trustee distributes the corpus directly to those relatives. No reversionary interest arises in Lopez's estate under the governing instrument.
Samuel Ortiz conveys real property by deed to his next of kin. The grantees take fee simple absolute. The conveyance creates no presumptive reversion in Ortiz under the governing instrument.
Select any source to read its text and confirm it supports the definition.
Elena Vargas's will leaves the residue to her relatives. The probate court distributes the assets outright to the identified kin. No reversionary interest is presumed in Vargas's estate.
David Chen designates his family as life-insurance beneficiaries on the policy form. After his death the insurer pays proceeds directly to those kin. The designation creates no reversion in Chen's estate.
Grace Kim exercises a power of appointment in favor of her distributees. The appointed property passes directly to those relatives. No reversionary interest arises in Kim under the instrument.
No. Under the Uniform Probate Code the doctrine of worthier title is abolished. Language describing beneficiaries as next of kin therefore passes the property directly to those relatives without presuming any reversionary interest in the transferor.
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The property passes to those persons who would succeed to the designated individual's intestate estate under the intestate succession law of the designated individual's domicile at the time the disposition takes effect.
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The estate escheats to the state when no member of the second or third parentela survives the decedent.
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…limits the occupancy of any dwelling unit to a single family, but that defines "family" to include only certain combinations of blood relatives. The question presented, as I view it, is whether the decision in Belle Terre is controlling, or whether the Constitution compels a different result because East Cleveland's definition of…