what does  next friend mean in legal terms
As a general rule, any person may serve as next friend of an infant plaintiff, whether he is related or not.[10] The next friend is not the real party in the action. The next friend representing an infant plaintiff is in no sense a party to the action, or has he any interest in the litigation, but the real party plaintiff in the suit is still the infant. Consequently, the process must run in the name of the infant by his next friend, and not in the name of the next friend acting for the infant.[11]