Things to Do After the Death of a Relative (Paperwork)

 

Things to Do After the Death of a Relative

To Download Death Certificate (Tamilnadu): http://crstn.org/birth_death_tn/PubDeathCertReport.jsp

My Grandmother expired on 7th July 2018.  As I come to terms with her loss, I feel like sharing the knowledge that I acquired regarding the processes involved in the paperwork post her death.

1. DOCTOR CERTIFICATE & CREMATION SLIP : To begin with, whether the death was in Hospital or residence. If its in Hospital, The hospital asks the family to write the exact name of the deceased, with the initials. Ensure you get this right, as this is what will go into the death certificate. Any deviation here will cause a lot of problems later. If the death happened in residence, Collect a Form from the cremation, Fill it and get a certificate from the Family Doctor who had declared the death. Only after obtaining the Certificate the dead body can be buried. Hand over a copy of the certificate at the burial ground,whose caretaker gives a printed slip in return.

 2. DEATH CERTIFICATE : Secondly, there is the death certificate from the municipal authorities. After the cremation, Submit the Hospital Certificate alongwith the printed Slip from the Cremation to the Local Municipal Corporation to register the death. Obtain as many prints you want -- at least 20! Every organisation in the chain needs this. A Death Certificate has to be obtained within 21 days of the death.

 3. LEGAL HEIRSHIP CERTIFICATE : The most important step in the whole process is to get the legal heirship certificate from the local tehsildar. Find out which tehsildar office your parent’s residence falls under. Visit the office with the death certificate and ask the revenue inspector's assistant for a form that needs to be filled up. The spouse or children of the deceased can fill this up. You need to attach copies of all ID proofs of the remaining family members and copies of all financial instruments.This typically takes three months.

4. The next thing to do is to list out the possible various interfaces that one is going to need, namely:

- Banks

- Property

- Insurance, Mediclaim,Vehicle insurance (if the deceased had any)

Talk to each of these organisations and understand the process required to convert ownership of the deceased person's belongings to the spouse's. 

BANKS: Now the actual stuff starts, beginning with the BANKS. Hopefully, your father has a joint account with your mother or has at least put her as a nominee. If it is a joint account, one just needs to remove the deceased person's name in the account and continue with it. If it is the latter, the bank will give a nominee claim form that needs to be filled. It is the same process for fixed deposits (FDs), and mutual funds (MFs).

There is a TAX implication. The legal heir has to file the income tax returns for the deceased and pay tax if required. So, if the investments or savings amount is taxable, do the calculations and check if 15H is to be given in those banks where the wife/husband is now becoming an account holder or holding investments.

Get to know the deceased’s auditor in advance. This simplifies a lot of things, including accessing his latest INCOME - TAX (I-T) RETURN, which in turn gives a lot of status update.

The change of the ATM card is to be done. If the deceased has not shared his/her PIN number, a fresh ATM card has to be applied for by the heir after the bank account name transfer has happened.

Getting ONLINE access to the bank account is another process.

PROPERTY : If the deceased  has left a property will, then there is clarity. Else the ownership should be registered with the help of legal heirship to either the spouse or the children, as the case may be. This requires detailed paperwork and you should contact your lawyer to get the list of documents that need to be traced regarding the property, right from the sale deed, or encumbrance certificate (EC).

The physical registration ideally can be done in one step, as re-registration can be avoided that involve repeated fees.

Preferably, get to know your parent’s lawyer before his/her demise. This helps continuity of thought.

INSURANCE -- Life, vehicle, and medical:

Each company has a different protocol. But the death certificate and legal heirship are the starting points. Check if the insurance has been taken through an agent or from the company directly.  Many companies have online services, so you could check through that. If your parent had a separate folder for insurance, that could save time. For life and medical insurance, it is good to go to companies directly, for vehicle it is best to go through an agent who will help with the transfer of the vehicle to your name.

Salaried Employees:

If you know anyone who has passed away due to Covid-19 and was an employee under pvt sector, then their nominee/legal heir may be eligible to receive an amount up to ₹7 lakhs under the Employees Deposit Linked Insurance (EDLI) scheme. EDLI is an insurance cover provided by the EPFO (Employees Provident Fund Organisation) for private sector salaried employees. You may share this information with your friends and acquaintances.

PMJJBY

Please note Important Notice:

If someone in a close relative / friend circle has died from Covid-19 or for any reason, ask the bank for an account statement or passbook entry of  01-04 to 31-03. Seeing the entry of Rs. 12 / - or Rs. 330 / - , mark it, Go to the bank and claim insurance. My humble request to all of you is that if such cases happen around you, immediately inform the family who may have closed the account after death, even if the premium has been deducted in that period. In the year 2015, the government provided two cheap insurance schemes to the savings account holders of all the banks. Pradhan Mantri Jeevan Jyoti Bima Yojana (PMJJBY) at Rs 330 and Pradhan Mantri Suraksha Bima Yojana (PMSBY) at Rs 12. The premium will also be debited from their account on 31/05 First of all, spread this message from village to village, Rs. 200000 / - is a very big amount for our society. ... will be useful if known.

Disclaimer: The information contained in this blog is for general information & Educational purposes only. Any reliance you place on such information is therefore strictly at your own risk.