What should you do first after the death of a parent?
Get the death certificate first, then make a list of everything your parent held. Knowing what to do after the death of a parent, financial and legal, is mostly about order and patience. There is rarely a need to finish it all in the first weeks.
- Order several copies of the death certificate. Many offices keep one.
- Find the will, if there is one, and any nomination records.
- List bank accounts, fixed deposits, lockers, mutual funds, shares, EPF, pension, insurance policies, loans, credit cards and property.
- Check the post for statements over the next few months. They often reveal accounts the family did not know about.
- Keep a folder, paper or digital, with a copy of every claim you file and the date.
How do you claim a parent's bank account after death?
Inform each bank in writing with the death certificate, then file a claim as nominee, surviving joint holder or legal heir. The RBI's September 2025 directions on claims after a customer's death ask banks to use simpler, uniform documents. Banks had to implement them by 31 March 2026.
- With a nominee or a joint account with survivorship, the bank pays the nominee or survivor. This is a valid discharge for the bank.
- With no nominee, banks follow a simplified procedure for claims up to ₹15 lakh, or ₹5 lakh in co-operative banks. Banks may set higher limits. Above that, they may ask for a succession or legal heir certificate.
- Deposit claims must be settled within 15 calendar days of receiving all documents. For a delay caused by the bank, it pays interest of at least 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. It pays ₹5,000 a day for a delay it causes.
Being paid as nominee is not the same as inheriting. Who finally owns the money is generally decided by the will or the succession law that applies to your family.
What is the difference between a legal heir certificate and a succession certificate?
A legal heir certificate lists the surviving family members and comes from the revenue office. A succession certificate is an order of a civil court that lets heirs collect debts and securities.
- Delhi calls the legal heir certificate the Surviving Member Certificate. You apply online through the e-District portal or at a Citizen Service Centre. The SDM or Tehsildar's office issues it, based on your parent's last address in Delhi.
- Delhi asks for the death certificate, identity and address proofs of the applicant and all surviving members, photographs and a signed self-declaration.
- In Uttar Pradesh and Haryana, ask the tehsil or SDM office for the heirship certificate available there.
- A succession certificate is granted by the District Judge, under the Indian Succession Act, 1925. You file where your parent ordinarily lived. Banks, companies and registrars of shares or debentures ask for it, usually when there is no nominee and the amount is large.
Neither certificate is needed if a nominee or joint holder can claim, or if a will is accepted by the institution (probate is no longer compulsory anywhere in India since December 2025, though some institutions still ask for it). Ask each institution exactly what it needs before applying.
How do you transfer property after a parent's death?
Get the property recorded in the heirs' names through mutation. The office depends on the kind of property and the city.
- Municipal or house tax records: apply to the local body's property tax department.
- Agricultural or village land: apply to the tehsil, where the revenue record is updated.
- Flats and plots allotted by authorities such as DDA, Noida Authority, YEIDA or HSVP: apply to that authority for transfer in the records.
- Housing society: write to the society to transfer the share and membership.
Most offices ask for the death certificate, the will or probate if any, a legal heir or surviving member certificate, and no-objection affidavits from other heirs. Mutation updates records; it is not itself proof of ownership.
How do you claim EPF, pension and insurance?
Each scheme has its own claim. File them in parallel, because each takes weeks.
- EPF: the nominee files online on the EPFO member portal. Form 20 covers the provident fund, Form 10D the monthly pension and Form 5IF the EDLI insurance benefit. You need the parent's UAN, the beneficiary's Aadhaar, the death certificate and a cancelled cheque. With no nomination, the amount goes to eligible family members.
- Pension: inform the bank that pays the pension and the pension office straight away, so payments stop and nothing credited after the death has to be returned later. Ask about family pension for a surviving spouse or dependant.
- Life insurance: tell each insurer, then submit the claim form, policy document, death certificate, the nominee's identity and bank details, and medical records. In accidental deaths, insurers also ask for the FIR and the post-mortem report.
- Health insurance: close any pending hospital claim and ask whether surviving family members can continue cover.
What happens to a parent's Aadhaar, PAN and income tax?
Report the death for Aadhaar, keep the PAN until tax matters close, and file the final return as legal heir.
- Aadhaar: UIDAI's myAadhaar portal has a service called Reporting of Death of a Family Member. It works for deaths registered in states and UTs that use the Civil Registration System.
- Income tax: the legal heir registers on the income tax e-filing portal as the representative of the parent. You need the parent's PAN, the death certificate and proof of being the legal heir.
- The final return covers income from 1 April of that financial year up to the date of death. Income earned afterwards on inherited assets is taxed in the heirs' hands.
- A legal heir is generally liable for the parent's tax dues only up to the value of the assets inherited.
- Keep the PAN active until the final return is processed and any refund is received.
What about phones, email and digital accounts?
Keep your parent's phone number active for a few months. Banks and portals send one-time passwords to it during claims.
- Note the passwords you know, but use official claim routes rather than logging in as your parent for money matters.
- Cancel subscriptions, auto-debits and standing instructions with the bank.
- Many social and email platforms let family request that an account be closed or kept as a memorial. They usually ask for the death certificate.
- Download photographs and messages the family wants to keep before closing anything.