What is an affidavit of heirship? What is an affidavit of kinship?
Answer
An affidavit of heirship or affidavit of kinship is a document used in Surrogate's Court proceedings to show the court how a distributee, or person who is inheriting an estate, is related to the person who died. Surrogate's Court Rule 207.16(c) requires that "[w]henever there is a sole distributee (including solely a wife or just one child), an Affidavit of Heirship is required to demonstrate to the court that someone other than the distributee is confirming that there is no other legal heir." An affidavit of heirship is also required when the person inheriting the estate is someone other than the deceased's spouse, children, or parents. If the family relationship to the deceased is more distant than this, the distributee needs to show the court how they are related to the deceased.
An affidavit of heirship or kinship should be completed by a "disinterested person," such as a family friend. Sometimes an affidavit of heirship is a simple sworn statement, like this example from Broome County. Sometimes the affidavit also requires the person filling it out to complete a family tree, like in this example from Queens County. There is not a standard, statewide form for this affidavit, but you can find many other examples in materials at your local public access law library.