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The process of claiming assets on the death of your loved ones becomes lengthy and complicated in the absence of nomination or a Will. Hence it is always better to prioritize Estate Planning, as this will save a lot of trouble for your loved ones. When your loved one passes away and you wish to claim the assets as a legal heir, you will need a few important documents in place. Death Certificate, Claim Application Form, Probate of Will and Succession Certificate are a few such documents.
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Dealing with the death of your loved one is extremely painful. In addition to the emotional stress, there could be financial stress as well. This worsens if you realise you will have to find legal battles to get what your loved one left behind for you. Estate Planning is an often ignored concept of Financial Planning, and as a result, the legal heirs end up going through a lot of legal hassles to claim the assets. Bank accounts, insurance policies, shares and mutual funds, valuables in bank lockers, real estate and provident funds are a few assets which will need to be claimed. Not mentioning the nominee’s name or not having a proper Will in place can cause significant problems to the legal heirs, as banks and other institutions require proof that you are the rightful owner of the assets after your loved one’s death. Here are some important documents you need to have when you claim the assets of your loved one after his/her death:
Death CertificateA death certificate is the basic document one needs to have to prove the death of the person. This can be obtained from the Municipal Corporation or the Gram Panchayat, as the case may be, after verifying that the person in question is really dead. A death certificate states the date and time of death. This document is very important for all institutions and should be produced even if the nominee is named or a Will is present. The procedure of obtaining the death certificate changes depending on the circumstances of the death, and you must take steps to obtain the death certificate as soon as the death occurs. Please click here to read more and understand the process.
Probate of Will
Having a proper, registered Will in place is of utmost importance in today’s world. Please click here to read more about Will, how you write it and to understand its importance. However, many people still shy away from writing a Will. Sometimes, even though a Will is in place, it is not registered, leading to chances of fraud. When a Will is not registered, you will even find two or three versions of it, often leading to confusion as to which is the original one. In such cases, you will need a Probate of Will which can be obtained from the Court. This document will have the seal of the court and certifies that the Will is authentic. You will need to take the help of a lawyer, pay the required fees and wait for a considerable amount of time to get the Probate of Will.
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Claim FormA claim form is provided by the institution from which you are making the claim of assets, and will have to be submitted when you make the claim. You will need to fill in various details of the assets to be claimed, along with the details of the deceased and your relationship with the deceased. Each institution will have its own claim application form.
Succession Certificate
In many cases, there is no nomination on the assets and no Will as well. Even though you are the legal heir, there may not be any legal proof of this. In such a case, you will need to produce a Succession Certificate to claim the assets. A Succession certificate is obtained from the Court, which proves that you are a legal heir. To determine from where you must obtain the succession certificate, you must ascertain the jurisdiction under which the particular asset/institution from which you are claiming the asset falls, and accordingly approach the concerned district or high court. You must take the help of a lawyer, file a petition for the Succession Certificate and pay the required fees. Thereafter, the court advertises in the newspaper and waits to see if there are objections regarding the claim. If there is no objection, the succession certificate is granted to the claimant, which can then be used to claim the assets.
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While the above is an original article written by us, we are inspired by a related article on JagoInvestor.com
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