Claiming a Parent's Investments After Death: The 2026 Checklist
Last updated: 13 October 2026
Quick answer: To claim a deceased parent's investments, first get death certificates and list every asset. Each institution then needs a claim form, the death certificate, the claimant's KYC and bank proof. A nominee or joint holder needs little else. Without one, heirs add an indemnity and heirs' consent up to set limits (₹15 lakh at banks, ₹10 lakh per fund house), and court or heirship papers above them.
Last updated: 13 October 2026 Quick answer: To claim a deceased parent's investments, first get death certificates and list every asset. Each institution then needs a claim form, the death certificate, the claimant's KYC and bank proof. A nominee or joint holder needs little else. Without one, heirs add an indemnity and heirs' consent up to set limits (₹15 lakh at banks, ₹10 lakh per fund house), and court or heirship papers above them. Key takeaways Banks: settle within 15 days of complete documents, or pay interest at Bank Rate plus 4% (RBI Directions, 2025). Mutual funds and demat: no court papers up to ₹10 lakh per AMC (non-demat) or ₹30 lakh (demat) since August 2026. Insurance: death claims within 15 days, or 45 days if investigated (IRDAI, 2024). EPF: Forms 20, 10D and 5(IF); EDLI pays ₹2.5 lakh to ₹7 lakh. Probate: no longer compulsory anywhere in India since December 2025. When a parent dies, the paperwork arrives at the worst possible time. A typical retired parent in Pune might leave a savings account, two or three FDs, mutual funds across several fund houses, a demat account, an old LIC policy, a PPF account and a flat. Each sits with a different institution, under a different regulator, with a different form. The good news is that 2025 and 2026 made claims much easier. The RBI standardised bank claims, SEBI raised the limits for claims without court papers, and probate stopped being compulsory. This checklist walks you through each asset as of October 2026: what to do first, which documents to collect, the limits that decide how much paperwork you need, and how long institutions are allowed to take. What to do first: the first 30 days Six steps to take in the first 30 days after a parent dies before claiming investments Get the death certificate. Register the death with the municipal body (in Pune, PMC or PCMC) and get 8 to 10 certified copies. Many institutions now accept QR-coded certificates that can be verified online. Build an asset list. Collect bank passbooks and statements, FD receipts, policy bonds and recent emails. Download the parent's consolidated account statement (CAS) for mutual funds and demat holdings; our CAS guide (/insights/consolidated-account-statement-cas-guide) explains how. The Annual Information Statement (AIS) on the income-tax portal shows interest, dividends and securities transactions, which point to accounts you may not know about. Look for the will. If there is one, it decides who finally owns each asset. Read our guide on valid wills in India (/insights/how-to-write-valid-will-india) to check it was properly signed and witnessed. Note who is nominee or joint holder on each asset. This decides the route for every claim. Inform institutions in writing and stop SIPs, standing instructions and auto-debits. Do not operate the account. Withdrawing money with a deceased person's card, PIN or UPI is not allowed, even for funeral costs, and can create legal trouble for you later. What documents are needed to claim a deceased person's investments? Almost every claim starts with the same core set. Keep several self-attested copies ready. Document Needed for Notes Death certificate Every claim Original for verification plus attested copies; QR-coded certificates accepted by SEBI-regulated entities Claim form Every claim Each bank, AMC, DP, insurer and EPFO has its own form Claimant's PAN and KYC Every claim Mutual fund KYC must show "validated" or "registered" Claimant's bank proof Every claim Cancelled cheque or recent statement in the claimant's own name Proof of relationship Heir claims Birth or marriage certificate, ration card, or similar Indemnity bond Heir claims within limits Usually notarised; no third-party surety at banks within the limit No-objection or affidavit from other heirs Heir claims within limits SEBI uses a single "affidavit-cum-NOC" Will, legal heir or succession certificate Heir claims above limits See the comparison below Claim checklist by asset Here is how each asset works when a nominee or joint holder exists, and when only legal heirs are left. Asset Where to claim Nominee or joint holder No nominee Deadline Savings account, FD Home branch or bank's online claim facility Claim form, death certificate, KYC; no succession certificate or indemnity Up to ₹15 lakh (₹5 lakh co-op): indemnity, heirs' NOC, heirship proof. Above: court or heirship papers 15 days Bank locker Branch holding the locker Access after inventory with witnesses Legal heir certificate or affidavit with heirs' NOC 15 days; ₹5,000 per day for delay Mutual funds (non-demat) AMC or its registrar, CAMS or KFintech Transmission form, death certificate, KYC, bank proof Up to ₹10,000: undertaking. Up to ₹10 lakh per AMC: indemnity and affidavit-cum-NOC. Above: will, heirship or court document 21 days Shares, ETFs, bonds in demat Parent's depository participant Transmission form, death certificate, claimant's own demat account Up to ₹30 lakh: indemnity and affidavit-cum-NOC. Above: will, heirship or court document 21 days Life insurance Insurer's branch or online claims desk Claim form, death certificate, policy, KYC, bank proof; medical records if death was early Heirs claim with succession or heirship proof 15 days; 45 days if investigated EPF, EPS, EDLI EPFO, via last employer or online Form 20 (PF), Form 10D (pension), Form 5(IF) (insurance) Heirs claim; may need succession proof EPFO service standards PPF, SCSS, post office schemes Post office or bank where account is held Claim application (Form 11), death certificate, KYC; any amount Up to ₹5 lakh per account after 6 months without legal evidence. Above: succession certificate Not specified Property Talathi, City Survey office, society, Sub-Registrar Society nominee; mutation with will or heirship papers Mutation in all heirs' names; partition or release deeds later Varies Bar chart of limits for claiming a deceased person Bank accounts, FDs and lockers The Reserve Bank of India (Settlement of Claims in respect of Deceased Customers of Banks) Directions, 2025 , issued on 26 September 2025, standardised the process for all commercial and co-operative banks, with full implementation due by 31 March 2026. Where there is a nominee or survivor, the bank pays them after verifying identity and death, and may not ask for a succession certificate, probate or indemnity. Without a nominee, the simplified procedure applies up to ₹15 lakh at commercial banks and ₹5 lakh at co-operative banks. Banks must settle deposit claims within 15 calendar days of receiving all documents. If they are late, they owe interest at not less than the Bank Rate plus 4% a year for the delay. For lockers, the bank must process the claim within 15 days and fix a date for the inventory, with compensation of ₹5,000 per day of delay. Remember that FDs in "either or survivor" mode simply pass to the surviving holder. Mutual funds SEBI's circular of 23 July 2026, effective from about 22 August 2026, raised the limit for claims without court papers to ₹10 lakh per fund house for units held in statement-of-account form. A quick route covers holdings up to ₹10,000 for close family. One set of papers at a CAMS or KFintech branch can cover several fund houses they service. Expect a 10-business-day hold on redemptions after transmission. Full details are in our mutual fund transmission guide (/insights/mutual-fund-transmission-after-death) , and forgotten folios can be traced using our guide to unclaimed mutual fund money (/insights/unclaimed-mutual-fund-money-mitra) . Demat shares, ETFs and bonds Claims go to the parent's depository participant. The claimant must first open a demat account in their own name, because shares move into it. The simplified limit for demat securities is ₹30 lakh, and the quick route covers up to ₹30,000. For physical share certificates, contact the company's registrar; SEBI's 2026 framework also says surviving joint holders need only a death certificate. Our guide to demat nominees (/insights/demat-account-nominee-ddpi-pledge) covers the account side. Life insurance Under IRDAI's master circular on protection of policyholders' interests (5 September 2024), insurers must pay or reject a death claim within 15 days of intimation if no investigation is needed, and within 45 days if it is. Late payment carries interest at the bank rate plus 2%. Keep hospital and medical records ready if the death was within the first three years of the policy, when investigations are common. If a claim is unfairly delayed, escalate through Bima Bharosa or the Insurance Ombudsman; see our guide on how to complain (/insights/how-to-complain-sebi-scores-odr-ombudsman) . EPF, EPS pension and EDLI If your parent was still employed or had an unsettled EPF account, file three claims: Form 20 for the provident fund balance, Form 10D for the EPS family pension, and Form 5(IF) for the Employees' Deposit Linked Insurance, which currently pays between ₹2.5 lakh and ₹7 lakh. Forms are attested by the last employer, or by an authorised official if the establishment has closed. Since an EPFO circular of 13 August 2025, a guardianship certificate is no longer needed when a minor's share is paid into a bank account in the minor's own name. PPF, SCSS and other post office schemes A PPF account cannot be continued by the nominee; it is closed and paid out. For post office schemes, a registered nominee is paid regardless of amount without legal evidence. Without a nominee, heirs can claim up to ₹5 lakh per account without a succession certificate, but only after six months from the death, under India Post's guidelines of 10 January 2023. Above ₹5 lakh, a succession certificate is needed. Note that PPF and SCSS held at a bank follow these government scheme rules, not the RBI's bank-claims limits. Property A flat or land does not need a "claim" so much as a change of records. In Maharashtra, that means mutation of the 7/12 extract through the Talathi for agricultural land, or of the property card through the City Survey office in cities. For a flat in a co-operative housing society, the society transfers the share certificate to the nominee or heir under its bye-laws; a society nominee, like any other, holds for the legal heirs. Update municipal property tax and electricity records too. If heirs later want one person to own the property, they need a registered release or partition deed, which may attract stamp duty. Our checklist for buying a flat in Maharashtra (/insights/buying-flat-maharashtra-rera-stamp-duty-checklist) covers registration basics. Legal heir certificate vs succession certificate vs probate You need one of these only when there is no nominee or joint holder and the amount is above the simplified limit, or when the family disagrees. Comparison of legal heir certificate, succession certificate and probate for claiming investments in India A legal heir certificate , issued by a revenue authority, simply lists the heirs. SEBI's 2026 framework accepts one from an authority not below Tehsildar level, with an indemnity. A succession certificate is granted by a civil court under the Indian Succession Act to collect debts and securities, such as deposits and shares; it does not cover land. Probate is a court's confirmation of a will. Since the Repealing and Amending Act, 2025 omitted Section 213 of the Indian Succession Act on 20 December 2025, probate is no longer compulsory anywhere in India, though some banks may still ask for it above ₹15 lakh. Our nominee vs legal heir (/insights/nominee-vs-legal-heir-india) guide explains why nominees and heirs can be different people. A worked example: one Pune family's claims Prakash, a retired 74-year-old, dies in Pune in 2026 without a will. His heirs are his wife, Sunita, and two adult children. His assets: Asset Value Nominee or joint Route and papers Savings account, commercial bank ₹4 lakh Sunita as nominee Nominee claim: form, death certificate, KYC FD, co-operative bank ₹6 lakh None Above the ₹5 lakh co-op limit: heirship or succession papers Mutual funds, AMC A ₹7 lakh None Under ₹10 lakh: indemnity and affidavit-cum-NOC from all three heirs Mutual funds, AMC B ₹5 lakh None Same simplified route Demat shares ₹18 lakh Son as nominee Nominee claim at DP; son holds for all heirs LIC policy ₹5 lakh Sunita as nominee Beneficial nominee under Section 39; she can keep it PPF ₹9 lakh Sunita as nominee Nominee claim; account closed and paid Only one asset, the ₹6 lakh co-operative bank FD, needs formal heirship papers, because it crosses the ₹5 lakh co-op limit with no nominee. Before 2026, both mutual fund holdings above ₹5 lakh would also have needed them. And because there was no will, the ₹18 lakh of shares claimed by the son belong equally to all three Class I heirs. The family can settle this with a simple family arrangement. Regulatory timelines for settling claims of a deceased parent in India What about tax after a parent dies? Inheritance itself is not taxed in India, and receiving units, shares or deposits as nominee or heir is not income. The heir takes over the parent's original cost and holding period for capital gains. Income earned after the death, such as FD interest or gains on later redemptions, is taxed in the hands of whoever owns the asset then. Someone must also file the parent's final income-tax return for the part of the year before death. The legal heir registers as the legal representative on the income-tax portal and files it. If the parent had a refund due, it is paid to the representative. For the tax rules on redeemed funds, see capital gains tax on mutual funds (/insights/capital-gains-tax-mutual-funds-2026) . How to save your own family this trouble Nominate everywhere: up to four nominees on bank deposits, three on folios and demat accounts. See 2026 nomination rules (/insights/nomination-rules-mutual-funds-demat-2026) . Write a will and make it match your nominations. Keep one asset list with account numbers, policy numbers, folio numbers and contact persons, and tell your family where it is. Consolidate: fewer banks and fund houses mean fewer claims. Our guide to consolidating scattered investments (/insights/consolidate-scattered-investments-and-policies) shows how. Related reading Mutual fund transmission after death (/insights/mutual-fund-transmission-after-death) Nominee vs legal heir: who actually gets the money (/insights/nominee-vs-legal-heir-india) How to write a valid will in India (/insights/how-to-write-valid-will-india) Joint holding vs nomination (/insights/joint-holding-vs-nomination) Financial planning after divorce or widowhood (/insights/financial-planning-after-divorce-widowhood) Estate planning in India: complete guide (/insights/estate-planning-guide-india) Frequently Asked Questions How long does a bank take to settle a deceased person's account? Under the RBI's 2025 directions, banks must settle deposit claims within 15 calendar days of receiving all required documents. If they delay, they must pay interest of at least the Bank Rate plus 4% a year for the delay. Locker claims must also be processed within 15 days, with ₹5,000 compensation for each day of delay. Is a succession certificate required to claim mutual funds? Not if there is a nominee or surviving joint holder. Without one, SEBI's July 2026 framework lets heirs claim up to ₹10 lakh per fund house (non-demat) or ₹30 lakh (demat) with only an indemnity bond and an affidavit-cum-NOC from all heirs. Above those limits, a will with indemnity, a legal heir certificate or a court document such as a succession certificate is needed. Can I withdraw money from my deceased father's account using his ATM card? No. Once the account holder dies, the account must be operated only through the bank's claim process. Using the card, PIN, UPI or signed cheques after death is improper, can expose you to legal action, and can complicate the family's claim. Inform the bank and file a claim; with a nominee, settlement should take about 15 days. What forms are needed for an EPF death claim? Three forms: Form 20 for the provident fund balance, Form 10D for the EPS pension, and Form 5(IF) for the EDLI insurance benefit, which currently ranges from ₹2.5 lakh to ₹7 lakh. Attach the death certificate and a cancelled cheque. The last employer usually attests the forms. Minors' shares can be paid into their own bank accounts without a guardianship certificate. How is PPF claimed after the account holder's death? The PPF account is closed and the balance paid out; a nominee cannot continue it. A nominee claims with the claim form, death certificate and KYC, regardless of the amount. Without a nominee, heirs can claim up to ₹5 lakh without a succession certificate, but only after six months from the death. Above that, a succession certificate is required. Do legal heirs pay tax on inherited investments? No tax is payable on receiving an inheritance. The heir inherits the original purchase cost and holding period, so long-term status usually carries over. Tax applies only when the heir sells or redeems, at the rates in force then, and on income such as interest earned after the death. The deceased's final return must still be filed by the legal representative. Sources: RBI deceased-claims directions, 2025 (summary) (https://www.indialaw.in/blog/banking-and-finance/rbi-issues-directions-on-settlement-of-deceased-claims/) ; IRDAI 2024 claim timelines (Mondaq) (https://www.mondaq.com/india/insurance-laws-and-products/1536672/irdai39s-update-on-turnaround-times-for-insurance-companies) ; Post office death claim guidelines (https://news.cleartax.in/death-claim-settlement-guidelines-for-post-office-schemes/8864/amp/) ; EPFO guardianship certificate change (Outlook Money) (https://www.outlookmoney.com/retirement/pension/epfo-changes-death-claim-settlement-rule-guardianship-certificate-no-longer-required) ; EDLI benefit limits (Moneylife) (https://mas360.moneylife.in/article/edli-scheme-enhanced-life-insurance-coverage-for-epfo-members/4794.html) ; SCC Online on probate change (https://www.scconline.com/blog/post/2026/08/29/section-213-succession-act-omission-2025-probate/) . Worked examples are Money n Wealth illustrations. Need help claiming a parent's investments? We help families trace folios, file transmission requests and organise the papers for banks, fund houses and insurers. Talk to Money n Wealth (/contact) for a free portfolio review. This article is for general educational purposes only and does not constitute financial or legal advice. Figures and examples are illustrative. Please consult a qualified financial adviser and a lawyer for guidance specific to your situation. Money n Wealth (Predics Fintech Services Pvt Ltd) is an AMFI-registered Mutual Fund Distributor (ARN-121995) and APMI-registered PMS Distributor (APRN07444); it is not a SEBI-registered investment adviser and may earn distribution commission on investments made through it.
Frequently Asked Questions
How long does a bank take to settle a deceased person's account?
Under the RBI's 2025 directions, banks must settle deposit claims within 15 calendar days of receiving all required documents. If they delay, they must pay interest of at least the Bank Rate plus 4% a year for the delay. Locker claims must also be processed within 15 days, with ₹5,000 compensation for each day of delay.
Is a succession certificate required to claim mutual funds?
Not if there is a nominee or surviving joint holder. Without one, SEBI's July 2026 framework lets heirs claim up to ₹10 lakh per fund house (non-demat) or ₹30 lakh (demat) with only an indemnity bond and an affidavit-cum-NOC from all heirs. Above those limits, a will with indemnity, a legal heir certificate or a court document such as a succession certificate is needed.
Can I withdraw money from my deceased father's account using his ATM card?
No. Once the account holder dies, the account must be operated only through the bank's claim process. Using the card, PIN, UPI or signed cheques after death is improper, can expose you to legal action, and can complicate the family's claim. Inform the bank and file a claim; with a nominee, settlement should take about 15 days.
What forms are needed for an EPF death claim?
Three forms: Form 20 for the provident fund balance, Form 10D for the EPS pension, and Form 5(IF) for the EDLI insurance benefit, which currently ranges from ₹2.5 lakh to ₹7 lakh. Attach the death certificate and a cancelled cheque. The last employer usually attests the forms. Minors' shares can be paid into their own bank accounts without a guardianship certificate.
How is PPF claimed after the account holder's death?
The PPF account is closed and the balance paid out; a nominee cannot continue it. A nominee claims with the claim form, death certificate and KYC, regardless of the amount. Without a nominee, heirs can claim up to ₹5 lakh without a succession certificate, but only after six months from the death. Above that, a succession certificate is required.
Do legal heirs pay tax on inherited investments?
No tax is payable on receiving an inheritance. The heir inherits the original purchase cost and holding period, so long-term status usually carries over. Tax applies only when the heir sells or redeems, at the rates in force then, and on income such as interest earned after the death. The deceased's final return must still be filed by the legal representative.
Need help claiming a parent's investments?
We help families trace folios, file transmission requests and organise the papers for banks, fund houses and insurers. Talk to Money n Wealth for a free portfolio review.
