Wills, Trusts, and Estates

Degree of Relationship

Degree of relationship is a method of measuring how related people are by counting the number of parental links that must be traversed, up or down, to reach someone.

Examples
  • Parents – 1
  • Siblings – 2 (up to parent, then down to sibling)
  • Grandparents – 2 (up to parent, then up to grandparent)
  • Uncles/Aunts – 3 (up to parent, then up to grandparent, then down to uncle/aunt)
  • First Cousins – 4 (up to parent, then up to grandparent, then down to uncle/aunt, then down to cousin)
  • Great-grandparents – 3 (up to parent, then up to grandparent, then up to great-grandparent)
  • First Cousins Once Removed (either direction) – 5
  • Second Cousins – 6
  • Fifth Cousins Twice Removed (either direction) – 12

There is a chart on page 85.