Please provide the name, email address, and relationship to the decedent for each of the legal next of kin. We require that we collect signatures from all legal next-of-kins prior to performing cremation. If you're unsure of who to include, please Contact Us and one of our funeral directors will answer your questions.
Include yourself below if you are a legal next of kin. The first person entered should be the person expecting to fill out a majority of the paperwork. Each subsequent person will be asked to sign the paperwork in the order entered.
What or who is a legal next of kin?
Order of Priority in Texas (General)
While specific contexts (like military or certain state forms) might slightly adjust this, the general order of next of kin in Texas is:
Surviving Spouse
Adult Children (or their descendants)
Parents
Adult Siblings (or their descendants)
Grandparents, Aunts, Uncles, Cousins (in descending order of closeness)
Key Responsibilities
Medical Decisions: Making choices for incapacitated individuals.
Body Disposition: Arranging and paying for funerals/burials.
Probate: Managing the deceased's estate if there's no will (intestate succession).
Important Considerations
No Friends: Friends are not considered next of kin; a will is needed to include them.
Formal Plans Trump Default: A valid will or healthcare directive always overrides the default next-of-kin rules.