Next of kin?

[Jazzzy]

State: Alaska
If a married couple has insurance policy's and the 1st beneficiary is each other, and both die together, and the 2nd listing for beneficiary is simply: next of kin -- is a step-child considered next of kin, or would it be the deceased's parents?

 

[marriedwithchildren]

if you look in the Alaska Statutes, you will find all the legalese re the inheiritance laws for alaska. I did look, and step-child is not considered to be a rightful heir from what I read. However, it may be different in another part of the law. From what I could determine, the child would inheirit from their biological parent, how ever the non-biological parents estate would probably go to either their parents, or siblings(goto http://freeadvice.com/law/_statecodes.htm, click on Alaska, then go to Title 13 for Probate Law)