Is it possible to "divorce" a parent in Ireland?

Asus X540L

Say for example my father is my next of kin. If I get hit by a bus tomorrow and died intestate, he would be the sole benefactor of my estate.

Now the obvious way around this would be to make a will or get married, however I am wondering is there any formal procedure to remove that person as my next of kin from a legal standpoint?

Thanks for looking.

Peregrinus

Is "making a will" not the legal procedure you are looking for?

If not, why not?

Asus X540L

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/117731388#Comment_117731388

Not really. He's still my next of kin but he is just not mentioned in my will (in my opinion)

If i ended up in hospital and they called my Next of kin, they don't have my will.

Wesser

Next of kin is virtually meaningless and they have no rights really. Nothing got to do with your will.

You leave him 10 euro from your estate. insert a clause saying those who challenge the will are disqualified from receiving their inheritence.

"10 euro" is a figure which proves he was not overlooked in error.

As a minor you could apply for emancipation in certain countries but that doesn't relate to inheritence.

Peregrinus

The only way to stop him being your next of kin is to marry or beget a child, in which case your spouse or child will displace him as your next of kin, or to be adopted, in which case your adoptive parents will displace him. It's probably too late for you to be adopted.

Or you could kill him, of course, but I wouldn't recommend that.

ohnonotgmail

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/117732809#Comment_117732809

They will call whoever you ask them to call. if you are worried about being unconscious when you arrive in hospital then simply leave a card in your wallet with the contact details of the person you do want to be contacted.

Peregrinus

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/117732809#Comment_117732809

Worth pointing out that, if the hospital does call your next-of-kin, it won't be to get hold of your will. The hospital doesn't care what's in your will.

magicbastarder

it may just be an isolated example, but say you did find some other 'legal' way of divorcing a parent - that paperwork would be as accessible to the hospital as a will would be.

anyway, there's a fundamental difference between estranging from a spouse and estranging from a parent; your relationship with your spouse was legally formalised so can be legally 'unformalised'. you cannot change who your parents are.

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/117736294#Comment_117736294

Don’t you get to decide your own next of kin? I’m my mother’s next of kin even though I’ve got older siblings. I’m on her medical records as such, with my youngest sister next in order for contact.

Peregrinus

There is no legal status of "next of kin" in Irish law. The law does provide for who will inherit your property if you die without making a will, and those people are sometimes referred to as your "next of kin", but this gives them no legal status at all when it comes to, e.g., making medical or care decisions on your behalf that you are unable to make yourself.

If somebody names you as their next of kin on a hospital admission form, the hospital take that as an indication that, if we have to contact a family member, this is where we should start. It may be that there are other family members equally closely related to the patient, or even more closely related to the patient, and the person nominated on the admission form might not be next of kin at all for inheritance purposes. The hospital doesn't care about that; they just treat the nomination as an indication that this is the person the patient told us to call, this person will probably be conversant with the patient's medical history, this person may be conversant with the patient's wishes and views regarding end-of-life care, if it comes to that. These are important practical matters, but they have no legal significance. The patient's nominated next of kin doesn't have e.g. a legal right to make medical decisions that the patient is incapacitated from making.