Next of kin is a legal phrase for the closest blood relatives of a person who has died without making a valid will. These next of kin share in the personal property of the dead person. Each state's laws determine which relatives get the personal property left by a resident of that state who did not leave a will. Usually, such laws provide for the distribution of both real and personal property to the same people, thus treating next of kin the same as heirs (see Heir). The relatives sharing the property are called next of kin because they are generally the closest surviving relatives of the dead person. Thus, a dead person's children are favored over cousins in the distribution of property.