**Kindred** (noun) — Persons related by blood or consanguinity; one's blood relatives as distinguished from those related by marriage (affinity). In the context of intestate succession and estate law, kindred refers to the group of relatives who may be entitled to inherit from a deceased person under the laws of intestacy. The term emphasizes biological or adoptive family relationships rather than relationships created by marriage.
Kindred means your blood relatives—the people you're related to through birth or adoption, not through marriage.
Your children, parents, siblings, cousins, aunts, uncles, and grandparents are all your kindred. Your spouse is not your kindred (they're related to you by marriage, not blood). Your step-children are not your kindred unless you've legally adopted them.
The term is somewhat old-fashioned and formal. You're more likely to encounter it in legal documents, particularly in older wills or when discussing intestacy laws, than in everyday conversation. But the concept matters because intestacy laws typically prioritize kindred—your blood relatives—when determining who inherits if you die without a will.
In estate planning, distinguishing between kindred and others can be important. Intestacy laws usually follow blood lines. Spouses get special treatment, but step-children, partners you're not married to, and in-laws generally don't inherit unless specifically named in a will.
⏱ When you'll encounter this term
- Reading intestacy laws (who inherits without a will)
- Understanding why blood relatives get priority
- Planning to leave assets to non-blood family
- Excluding certain relatives from inheritance
Learn more about kindred and intestacy
When you die without a will, the law looks to your kindred to determine who inherits. The intestacy formula typically starts with your closest kindred (your children), then moves to your parents if you have no children, then to your siblings, then to more distant blood relatives like aunts, uncles, and cousins.
This preference for kindred reflects traditional assumptions about family relationships and obligations. The law assumes you'd want your property to stay within your bloodline and pass to people genetically related to you.
But these assumptions don't always match modern reality. You might be estranged from your kindred and close to people who aren't blood relatives. You might have step-children you've raised as your own but never formally adopted. You might want to leave property to a long-term partner you're not married to, or to close friends, or to charity.
Without a will, none of these non-kindred relationships matter under intestacy law. Your property goes to your blood relatives according to the formula, regardless of your actual relationships or wishes.
A will lets you choose your beneficiaries based on your actual relationships and values, not on the law's assumptions about kindred ties. You can leave property to anyone you want—kindred or not, blood relative or chosen family. If you want to exclude certain kindred from inheriting, a will is also essential.
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