Sorry if I wasn't clear - I'm still half trying to get it straight it my head.
Normally when someone disappears / is a victim of crime, you hear that their Next of Kin has been informed / kept up to date. As Nicola and PA weren't married, presumably Nicola's legal NoK are her parents, rather than him.
1) I'm curious about how police communication and interaction may differ with Next of Kin, vs., in this case, a long-term partner who is a close loved one but presumably not Next of Kin. It seems police have a duty to inform NoK, but what is their duty towards informing other loved ones, or PoAs etc.?
2) Is there a legal process to confirm your preferred Next of Kin in the UK? E.g. a way Nicola could have had PA legally listed as Next of Kin, instead of, or alongside her parents? As far as I'm aware, I've only been asked about Next of Kin in a medical setting, it's not official / registered with the government etc.
3) Conversely, Power of Attorney, for health or finance, is something official that is registered with the government. For example, it could well be that PA could be Nicola's registered Power of Attorney even if he wasn't her next of kin, or someone else could be, like her sister, or a friend etc. In a missing persons case like this, would a being Power of Attorney (someone who has a legally established right to make medical or financial decisions when a person is "unable") supersede Next of Kin in terms of being informed / in contact with police, would there be an expectation that both NoK and PoA would be kept informed, or would being a PoA not hold any weight at all here, in terms of police communication, because it's less about legality and more about "loved ones"?
Hope that isn't as clear as mud
EDIT: multi-quote
Thanks guys! Really the overarching idea was wondering how being kept in the loop by police during a case is affected by legal requirements vs. social bonds. And how that may influence whether Nicola's parents or PA may be the primary point of contact for the police / what they may be told.