person with a special relationship; special relative
Legal term used in inheritance law for someone who had a close personal or financial relationship with the deceased, such as a de facto spouse or caregiver, and may be entitled to receive estate assets when there are no statutory heirs.
When there are no heirs, a person with a special relationship may receive the estate.
Because she had taken care of him for many years, she was recognized as a special relative.
相続人 is a statutory heir, while 特別縁故者 is a person with a special relationship who may inherit only when there are no statutory heirs.
Compound of 特別 (special) + 縁故 (connection, relationship) + 者 (person). A modern legal term with no known historical derivation beyond its component parts.