am the next of kin. I am Ben’s wife.” “I don’t mean to argue otherwise, Elsie. I simply have no record of that.” “So you’re saying that because I don’t have a marriage certificate yet, I am not next of kin?” Richard Pavlik shakes his head. “In situations like this, where there is a question of who is the next of kin, I have to go by official documents. I don’t have anyone else close to Ben who can confirm that you two were married, and when I looked into marital records, there was no evidence of it. I hope you understand I’m in a difficult spot.”