Every parent of a disabled child is haunted by the same question.

What happens after I am gone?

Next of Kin captures what only a parent knows — and makes it available to every carer who follows.

We are building an easy-to-use app for families, carers and the people they care for. Register your email on our waitlist and we'll keep you updated on our progress. If this resonates, please share your story with us.

Endless forms, assessments and meetings do not capture personality

Care systems are built around assessments, paperwork, and eligibility. They ask what support is needed. They rarely ask who this person is. The knowledge that shapes every good care relationship — the habits, the fears, the preferences, the history — lives in the head of the caregiver. And when that caregiver is gone, it goes too.

He says 'you' when he means 'I'. He's done it his whole life and it took me three years to understand. New carers never know. So they respond to the wrong person.

— Smith-Magenis syndrome mother

The assessment was two hours. They asked about communication, mobility, personal care. They never asked what he loves. They never asked what frightens him. They never asked what makes a Tuesday good.

— Smith-Magenis syndrome mother

I am haunted by the same question every parent in this situation has. Not who will care for him. There are services. But who will know him?

— Smith-Magenis syndrome mother
John and Ben by the ladder
John and Ben having coffee
John and Ben playing games
Evelyn and Ben at home

What Next of Kin does

01

Record

We interview you. Not a form — a conversation. We ask about routines, preferences, fears, joys, history. We ask the questions carers will one day need answered.

02

Build

Your answers become a living record — structured, searchable, and written in your voice. It grows over time as your child's life changes.

03

Guide

A carer asks a question. The answer comes informed by what you have shared — cited, specific, in your voice. Not a prescription but not a guess either. A caring suggestion.

Not a prescription. A head start.

Here's what a carer might ask — and what Next of Kin might say back.

Carer's question

“Ben's been quiet all morning and won't eat his lunch. I don't know what's wrong.”

Next of Kin suggests

Ben sometimes withdraws when something has changed in his routine that he hasn't been able to name. His mother noted that he processes disruption slowly — sometimes taking until the following day to show it. She also mentioned that fixing or making things is often how he re-regulates. If you have anything that needs mending, now might be a good time to ask for his help.

Based on interview notes: “Routine disruption”, “Self-regulation strategies”, “Ben and fixing things” — recorded by his mother, March 2024.

“Their diagnosis is not their personality.”

What this is

A portrait of your child, in your words
A guide for carers who never met you
A living document that grows over time
A way to transfer irreplaceable knowledge
A record that outlasts memory

What this is not

A care plan or medical record
A replacement for human relationships
A tool for diagnosis or assessment
A way to monitor or surveil
A substitute for professional support

Is this for you?

Built for

Caregivers of disabled adults and children
Families planning for future care transitions
Anyone who holds irreplaceable knowledge about someone they love
People who want to be heard beyond their lifetime

Not built for

Replacing professional care coordination
Storing medical or legal documents
Families without ongoing care relationships
Anyone looking for a quick fix or checklist

The Next of Kin podcast

Conversations with caregivers, carers, and professionals about what it means to know someone who cannot always speak for themselves.

Podcast

“Who will know him?” — A conversation about care, memory, and what caregivers carry

In this first episode, we speak with a mother about the moment she realised that the most important things she knew about her son had nowhere to go.

Next of Kin

Help them care like you did.

Join the waitlist to get early access, share what matters most about your child, and help us get this right.

No data ever shared or sold. No spam. Just newsletter updates on something that matters.

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