Kumari Palany & Co

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How to retrieve the property of a dead person?

Posted on: 08/Feb/2017 12:34:37 PM
It is really worth the effort to know the procedure of retrieving the property of dead persons as it would be very handy when we come across similar situations.

Death certificate and Legal Heir certificate

In order to retrieve the property of the dead person, the death certificate is really very essential whether you are approaching the banks, Insurance companies, mutual fund agencies or the government organizations.

You should also be thoroughly aware of the account details of the dead person. Whether it is a single account or a joint account must be ascertained. If the will left by the dead person is in your hands, it is easier to claim and retrieve the property and transfer to your name. However, if you do not possess the will left by the dead person, you need to approach the Court and obtain the Legal Heir Certificate.

After obtaining the above certificates, prepare a list of the properties and investments of the dead person. Prepare the documents required for claiming the property pertaining to property, bank accounts, Demat account details, Mutual Fund investment details, Bank locker particulars, debts owed, insurance data, etc.

You have to ascertain the complete debts particulars of the dead person. You have also to make a thorough list of the property owned which will help repay the debts. Then only, you can approach the debtors who had given loans. Only after ascertaining the debt data in complete form, you would be able to assess which property can be utilized for payment of which debt. For example, there is a possibility that you may settle the debts with some of the insurance policies. So, check, collect, and ascertain all the data mentioned above.

How to handle investments?

You have to organize the transfer of all mutual funds and bank account funds of the dead person to another account within a few days. It is good to know that the procedure for claiming is generally the same in most organizations. Depending on the nature of the account kept by the dead person, the procedure may vary slightly.

Joint account

If it is a joint account, the joint account holder must immediately transfer the dead persons joint account to his/her account. For this transfer, the death certificates and medical details have to be furnished.

Bank accounts

You have to furnish the same set of particulars furnished to the other agencies to the banks as well. If the account balance is not a huge amount, many complete details/documents may not be required. You can get it transferred within 15 daysys.

If you may ascertain all the payments which are regularly made from this account, you may be able to avoid any penalty in this regard.

Long-term deposits

It would be advantageous for you to transfer the fixed deposits in banks or the long-term bonds. There are no penalties involved in the fixed deposit transfer. The legal heir can get this transferred to different accounts as preferred. The interest will be calculated for the fixed deposit from the date the deposit was made.