Life never stops for anybody. There are definitely going to be changes in your life after the demise of your loved one. Though temporary, but a phase will come when day after day you will have to run office to office to claim the assets left by your deceased relative. The process of inheriting your parents/ siblings assets is not going to be smooth until and unless things are smoothened in advance by the deceased before dying. But unfortunately, we are not in a habit of securing things and planning in advance. People live and die peacefully with anticipation that whatever they have will ultimately belong to their children and they will divide the share equally among them. This often causes the legal heirs to go through a tedious process of inheriting the deceased relative’s assets. The process is a time consuming process and requires lot of resources.
List of possible assets to be claimed
Before you step out to claim your share, you must be aware of all the assets on the name of the deceased. These assets can be:
1) Real estate property (residential and commercial including land and farms)
2) Money with banks (term deposits and saving bank deposits)
3) Bank lockers
4) Provident fund
5) Post office deposits
6) Life insurance policies
7) NSC
8) Shares and bonds (debentures, mutual funds)
The list is not exhaustive. For claiming each of the above mentioned assets, you need to arrange number of documents and prepare yourself for multiple visits to courts, banks and offices.
Documents required
1) Death certificate – In the entire process of claiming assets, the first and the foremost document you require is death certificate of the deceased. Without this certificate, even the will of the dead won’t help you. It is mandatory to register the death of your loved one within 21 days of the demise with Municipal Corporation or Gram Panchayat (applicable for rural areas).
2) Claim form – Claim form is an application form to be filled by the claimant at the time of claiming assets of the dead. Every organization, be it a bank, mutual fund companies, life insurance companies, post office, etc. have their own form for claiming assets. This clears the air that for each asset, you will have to fill a fresh form. This form usually asks for the details like name, gender, address and other contact details of the claimant along with relationship with the deceased. You will also need to attach proofs with the form. But don’t expect the concerned office to take an immediate action for your application. Every office has their own process of verifying the details and dealing with the matter. So, keep your patience level high and don’t forget the importance of follow-ups.
3) Probate – The necessity of obtaining a probate arises only when the will is written but not registered. Such an unregistered will is questionable on the ground of its authenticity. Probate is a way out of the situation as it certifies the will to be authentic. Being a legal procedure, it requires time, money and services from a good lawyer.
4) Succession certificate – In case the deceased has already mentioned your name as nominee for the asset to be claimed by you or has written a will in your favour for that asset and such nomination or will is not questionable then half of your problem will automatically be solved. But if the person died intestate, i.e. without making a will, then it becomes imperative for beneficiaries to file a petition for succession certificate in a district or high court. Before granting a succession certificate, court will give a notice in newspapers asking for objections, if any. If nobody contests the notice then the court will issue a succession certificate on the name of all beneficiaries for the asset concerned.
Other documents – Bank account statements, fixed deposits, life insurance policies, original or photocopied deed for real estate, RC of vehicles, stock and bonds certificates, original copies of contracts, if any, copies of bills, a copy of ration card, identity proof, etc. may also be required.
