Guides

After a death: guidance for India

Use the country guidance in SecureKeep to understand nominees and legal heirs and what usually needs doing in India, with the source behind each point.

Takes about 10 minutes · Checked on SecureKeep 3.4.0 for iPhone and Android

  1. Open the guidance and pick India

    Open Settings and tap Guidance for your executor. Check that the top says Guidance for: India. If it doesn't, tap Change. The guidance is in English.

  2. Get the death certificate

    Open Death certificate. Register the death with the local registrar where it happened. The normal time limit is 21 days, and the item is marked Time limit. Get several copies, because banks, insurers and the provident fund office each ask for one.

  3. Understand what a nominee is

    Open Nominees and legal heirs. The first point matters most: a nominee receives the money but holds it for the legal heirs, and doesn't own it. The section also explains the bank claim steps and that the up-to-4-nominees rule is about bank deposits only.

  4. Search for unclaimed deposits

    Open Unclaimed deposits. It names the RBI's UDGAM portal, which searches for unclaimed deposits across the banks that take part. SecureKeep shows RBI sources as plain-text citations, not links, so type the address into your browser.

  5. Claim provident fund and insurance

    Open Provident fund and insurance. It lists the EPFO claim forms and what LIC asks for in a life insurance death claim. Each has a Source link to the official page.

  6. Check which certificates you may need

    Open Certificates you may need. A legal heir certificate or a succession certificate may be asked for, mostly where there's no nominee. How you get one depends on the state, so ask the bank, the insurer or a lawyer.

Good to know

  • General guidance, not legal advice. Check with the organisation or a lawyer.

If it doesn't work

The page shows a different country
Tap Change at the top and pick India.
I can't tap the RBI source
That's on purpose. RBI sources are shown as plain text. Type the address into your browser.
A source link doesn't open
Government pages move. Try again later, or search the publisher's name and the page title. Tell us if a link has gone stale.

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