How to Claim Every Asset After a Death in the Family

This article explains the general process in plain language. It isn’t legal advice, and exact requirements vary by institution and state — please confirm specifics with each one, and consult a lawyer where an estate is large or contested.

After a death, the same question comes up again and again, once for every account, policy, and piece of paper the person left behind: how do we actually get this transferred? This guide walks through each major asset type — who to approach, what to bring, and roughly how long it takes. If you’re unsure which certificate a particular institution will ask for, our companion piece on legal heir certificates, succession certificates and probate covers that separately.

One thing worth doing first, regardless of which assets are involved: request 10–15 original or certified copies of the death certificate from the municipal authority. Nearly every process below asks for one, and running back for more mid-process is a needless delay.

Bank accounts and fixed deposits

Approach: the branch where the account is held.

Documents: the bank’s own death claim form, a death certificate, and ID proof of the claimant. If a nominee is registered, that alone is often enough. Without a nominee, under the RBI (Settlement of Claims in respect of Deceased Customers of Banks) Directions, 2025, banks must accept a Legal Heir Certificate or affidavit for claims up to ₹15 lakh (₹5 lakh for co-operative banks) without demanding a succession certificate; above that threshold, a succession certificate is typically required.

Timeline: banks must settle the claim within 15 calendar days of receiving all required documents, under the same 2025 Directions.

Insurance (life, term, and health)

Approach: the insurer’s claims department, branch, or online portal.

Documents: the claim form, original policy document, death certificate, and ID/address proof of the nominee. For an unnatural death, expect to also provide a post-mortem report or FIR copy.

Timeline: under IRDAI’s 2024 Master Circular, straightforward death claims should be settled within 15 days; if the insurer needs to investigate, that must be completed within 90 days of intimation, with settlement following within 30 days after.

EPF, EPS pension, and EDLI insurance

Approach: the EPFO regional office, via the UAN member portal or in person.

Documents: Form 20 for the PF balance, Form 10D for a survivor pension, and Form 5(IF) for the EDLI insurance payout, each attested by the last employer where applicable, along with the death certificate. If there’s no nominee, a succession certificate or legal heir certificate is needed instead; if the heir is a minor, a guardianship certificate is required too.

Timeline: EPFO generally aims to process these within 20–30 days.

Mutual funds, demat holdings, and shares (“transmission”)

Approach: the mutual fund’s registrar (RTA) for fund units, or your Depository Participant for demat holdings.

Documents: a transmission request form, death certificate, and the claimant’s KYC. Where there’s no nominee, SEBI allows claims up to ₹15 lakh per account without a succession certificate or probate, using an indemnity bond, affidavit, and No Objection Certificates from the other legal heirs instead. Above that value, a succession certificate, probate, or Letters of Administration is required.

Timeline: transmission requests must be processed within 21 calendar days of receiving complete documents.

PPF and post office small savings (NSC, KVP, SCSS, Sukanya Samriddhi)

Approach: the post office or bank branch where the account is held.

Documents: the institution’s claim form, death certificate, and the claimant’s ID proof. Under the Government Savings Promotion Rules, 2018, a registered nominee can generally claim without a succession certificate; without one, a legal heir certificate is usually required instead.

Timeline: typically similar to a bank claim once documents are complete — a matter of weeks rather than months.

Property (mutation of records)

Approach: the local revenue department, Tehsildar, or municipal corporation for mutation of ownership records; the Sub-Registrar’s office separately, if a formal transfer deed is being registered.

Documents: the death certificate, a Legal Heir Certificate, Succession Certificate, or probated will (depending on the situation), original title documents, the latest property tax receipts, and No Objection Certificates from other heirs if the property is being transferred to one of several.

Timeline: 15–30 days or more, depending on the state and whether a field inspection is required.

Cooperative housing society shares

Approach: the society’s managing committee.

Documents: an application for membership from the registered nominee, made within six months of the death, along with the death certificate, the original share certificate, and typically an indemnity bond and No Objection Certificates from other legal heirs. As with most nominations, a society nominee generally holds the flat’s shares in trust for the legal heirs, not as outright owner, until the family settles who ultimately inherits it.

Timeline: varies by society and state, generally a few weeks once paperwork is complete — this is one area where local bye-laws (framed under each state’s Cooperative Societies Act) matter more than a single national rule.

Vehicle registration (RC transfer)

Approach: the RTO where the vehicle is registered.

Documents: Form 31 (transfer on death) along with Form 30, the death certificate, a succession or legal heir certificate, a No Objection Certificate from other heirs in favour of whoever is taking ownership, and valid insurance and PUC certificates.

Timeline: the transfer should be initiated within 30 days of death and completed within 90 days; RTO processing itself typically takes a further 30–45 days, with a nominal transfer fee.

Bank lockers

Approach: the bank branch holding the locker.

Documents: the death certificate and the registered nominee’s claim form and ID; without a locker nominee, a legal heir or succession certificate is required instead. Access is typically granted in the presence of bank officials, who prepare a formal inventory of the locker’s contents as it’s opened.

Timeline: generally faster than a full account settlement, since it’s an access-and-inventory process rather than a fund transfer — though exact timing depends on the bank’s internal procedure.

Liabilities: loans, credit cards, and guarantees

Debt doesn’t simply disappear on death, but it also doesn’t transfer to family members personally. Under Indian succession law, legal heirs are liable for a deceased person’s debts only to the extent of the assets they actually inherit — never from their own personal income or savings, and never at all if they inherit nothing.

In practice:

• Inform the lender promptly. Home loans, personal loans, and credit cards should all be reported to the respective institution.
• Check for loan protection or credit life insurance. Many home loans in particular carry an attached insurance policy that can fully or partly settle the outstanding balance on death — worth checking before assuming the family owes the remainder.
• Co-borrowers and guarantors remain liable per their original agreement — a joint home loan doesn’t become someone else’s problem to solve from scratch, but it also doesn’t disappear for the co-borrower.
• Credit cards are typically closed, with any dues settled from the estate rather than pursued against heirs personally, unless they held a supplementary card and used it themselves.

The pattern underneath all of it

Nearly every process above needs the same starting point: proof of death, proof of who’s claiming, and — depending on the nominee situation and the asset’s value — one of the certificates we cover in our companion article. The single biggest factor in how fast any of this moves isn’t the institution’s paperwork; it’s whether the family already knows what the deceased owned, or is discovering it asset by asset while grieving.

Where eKosha fits

This is precisely the situation a financial inventory is built for. When every account, policy, and share is already listed — with the institution, the approximate value, and the nominee — a family walks into each of these processes knowing exactly what to ask for, instead of starting from zero at the worst possible time.