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Originally Posted by fragment
Sorry, maybe my point wasn't clear. It just seems to me that a lot of people would fail to legally declare this next of kin, in the same way that a lot of people fail to make a will.
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I suggested they sign the document when they register to vote, or get their driver's license or ID. It could also be one of the million forms someone signs when purchasing property "In the event of your death, who is your designee for this property?" kinda thing.
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Why shouldn't there be a legal recognition of the actual social and economic relationships people enter into even when they haven't created a formal document specifying them?
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There should be, the problem is the current system discriminates against those who aren't or can't be married. Single people and homosexuals for examples.
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Take the case of someone who was in a relationship and declared their partner as next of kin, but then later fell out with that person and entered a relationship with someone else (these are either formal marriage or common-law relationships)... but this person failed to update who their legal next-of-kin was before dying. Does the current spouse lose all rights to inherit? If the inheritance was contested in a court, what should the outcome be?
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To get married you have to fill out forms, to change your designee you would need to fill out forms. You would need to fill out forms on your checking accounts and other financial holdings to add the new person, and the "legal next of kin with regards to this property" could just be another one. Really it seems so simple to me, I am baffled others see it as some kind of hardship.