Hi Vin I believe you will find that,in a family, each spouse is next-of-kin to the other. The parents are next-of-kin to each child. If a spouse dies, the children become next-of-kin to the surviving parent. On the death of both parents all siblings are next-of-kin to one another. According to my Brittanica :- In law, the term "next of kin" is applied to the person or persons who, as being in the nearest degree of blood relationship to a person dying intestate, share, accordingly to degree in his personal estate. Jean _________________________________________________________________________ Get Your Private, Free E-mail from MSN Hotmail at http://www.hotmail.com. Share information about yourself, create your own public profile at http://profiles.msn.com.