Your legal next of kin, in order: who the law picks first

"Next of kin" sounds like a single ranked list, the kind a hospital keeps in a drawer. In practice, the law keeps several. One decides who consents to surgery, another who inherits the house, another who settles the estate, and another who makes funeral arrangements.

They overlap, but not perfectly. If you have no spouse or children, the differences matter more, because the job can land on a different relative each time.

This page sets the lists side by side, using Washington as the worked example. It's part of our guide to who decides for you when you can't.

Why is there more than one list?

Each list was written for a different moment, by a different part of the law. Medical consent lives in the health care statutes.

Inheritance and estates live in the probate code. Funeral arrangements live in the cemetery laws.

So your brother might make medical calls, your nieces might inherit, and a court appointee might settle the estate. All three can be true at once.

The lists side by side (Washington)

A few things stand out. Grandchildren come right after siblings for settling an estate, but later for medical decisions. A close friend appears on only one list, and only at the very end.

Who is my next of kin for medical decisions?

If you can't make a decision and never named a health care agent, a Washington provider works down the RCW 7.70.065 list. They must make reasonable efforts to reach the highest group that exists for you before moving down.

When a group has more than one person, everyone available has to agree. If one sibling says no, the group can't consent. Our page on medical decisions without a power of attorney covers the details, including the close friend declaration.

Who is my next of kin for inheritance?

With no will, Washington's inheritance list starts with a spouse or registered partner and children. With neither, it goes to parents, then siblings and their children, then grandparents, then aunts, uncles and cousins.

Friends, unmarried partners and charities aren't on it. If no listed relative survives, the property goes to the state as escheat property (RCW 11.08.140). We walk through it in what happens if you die without a will.

Who settles the estate?

Someone has to apply to the court to settle an estate when there's no will, or when the executor named in a will can't serve. RCW 11.28.120 gives relatives the first right to apply: spouse, children, parents, siblings, grandchildren, then nieces and nephews.

After them come people who managed your affairs, such as the trustee of your trust or the agent under your financial power of attorney. Then beneficiaries, and then creditors.

If nobody with priority applies within 60 days, the court may appoint a provider who works with the state's Office of Public Guardianship and Conservatorship. After 90 days, it may appoint any suitable person.

Who arranges the funeral?

This list surprises people. Under RCW 68.50.160, the right to decide what happens to your remains goes first to an agent you named in writing. The writing must be signed and dated by you in front of a witness.

After that, it goes to a spouse or registered partner, then a majority of adult children. Then come parents, a majority of siblings, and a guardian.

Notice that the list stops there. Nieces, nephews and friends don't appear.

The same statute says a written document stating your own wishes, signed in front of a witness, is enough authorization on its own. So if you'd like a friend to carry out your funeral wishes, write the wishes down and name her, in a signed, witnessed document.

What if a court has to appoint a guardian?

There's one more list, for the rare case where a court must appoint a guardian for an adult. Under RCW 11.130.305, priority goes to:

1. A guardian already acting for you in another state.
2. Someone you nominated, including in a power of attorney.
3. Your health care agent.
4. Your spouse or domestic partner.
5. A relative or other person who has shown special care and concern for you.
6. A certified professional guardian or conservator.

This is the one list where a friend can rank well without being named. Even so, your own nomination ranks far higher. The court can also pass over someone with priority if that's in your best interest.

What happens if you have no next of kin?

Each list behaves a little differently when it runs out:

• Medical decisions: a close friend may step in with a sworn declaration, if the hospital accepts it. Otherwise, the route is court guardianship.
• Money while you're alive: there's no list at all. Without a financial power of attorney, a court appoints a conservator.
• Inheritance: the state takes the property.
• The estate: a court appointee settles it, after 60 or 90 days.
• Your remains: after a good-faith search, the funeral home may rely on the estate's representative or the most responsible person it can find.

In every case, the people deciding may never have known you. That's why people who have no next of kin often feel most exposed. The good news is that every list starts with the people you name yourself.

Other states order things differently

These are Washington's rules. Every state writes its own lists, and the medical list in particular varies a lot.

Some states have no friend provision; a few have no general medical list at all. Our table of default decision-maker laws in every state shows each one.

How to put your own list first

Every one of these lists gives way to a signed document. Here's what each takes:

Name a backup in each role, and write down the everyday things only you know. Our plain planning checklist walks through it in order.

If the relatives on these lists are far away, or you'd rather not ask them, a professional can be named instead. Kinly is one example: Trella Trust Company can serve in any of the four main roles, first or as backup. How it works explains the details.

The slower version of the gap, when memory fades over years, has its own page: dementia before anyone is named to help.

Common questions

Who is my next of kin if I'm not married and have no children?

In Washington, usually your parents, then your brothers and sisters. After that, the lists split.

For medical decisions it's adult grandchildren, nieces and nephews, aunts and uncles who know you, then a close friend. For inheritance it's grandparents, then aunts, uncles and cousins.

Is a sibling or a parent next of kin first?

A parent comes before a sibling on all of Washington's main lists: medical decisions, inheritance, estate administration and funeral arrangements. Siblings come next.

Can a friend be my legal next of kin?

Not by status. Next of kin is set by family relationship.

A friend can come last on Washington's medical list with a sworn declaration. Otherwise, she acts for you only if you name her in a power of attorney, will, trust or funeral designation.

Does the hospital have to call my next of kin?

Not necessarily. HIPAA lets a provider tell a family member or another person responsible for your care where you are and how you're doing (45 CFR 164.510). Who has authority to decide is a separate question, answered by the lists above.

Sources

• RCW 7.70.065: Informed consent, persons authorized to provide for patients who do not have capacity
• RCW 11.04.015: Descent and distribution
• RCW 11.08.140: Escheat property defined
• RCW 11.28.120: Persons entitled to letters of administration
• RCW 68.50.160: Right to control disposition of remains
• RCW 11.130.305: Who may be guardian for adult, order of priority
• 45 CFR 164.510: Uses and disclosures requiring an opportunity to agree or object (HIPAA)