AFTER-A-DEATH CHECKLIST
Tick each item when done and write the date beside it. This list names no fee, stamp duty, time limit or amount; take current figures from each office.
A. IN THE FIRST DAYS
[ ] Get the doctor's or hospital's certificate of the death, and keep it safe.
[ ] Register the death with the registrar of births and deaths for the place where it happened, and ask for the death certificate. If the time for registering has passed, see the Delayed Death Registration Affidavit.
[ ] Ask for several certified copies of the death certificate: most offices below keep one.
[ ] Start one folder. Note each office you write to, the date, the person you spoke to and the reply.
B. THE WILL AND THE HEIRS
[ ] Find out whether the person left a will. If so, keep the original safe and ask an advocate what must be done before offices will act on it.
[ ] If there is no will, list the legal heirs with their relationship and addresses. Ask each office which proof of heirship it accepts: the Application for a Legal Heir Certificate (Warisan Certificate), the Heirship Certificate Application, the Affidavit That There Is No Other Legal Heir, or a succession certificate (Petition for a Succession Certificate).
[ ] Where an heir is a minor, see the Guardianship Certificate Application for a Minor Heir.
[ ] Where the other heirs agree that one of them takes an asset, get their No Objection by Other Heirs to a Transmission.
C. BANKS AND LOANS
[ ] List every bank account, fixed deposit, recurring deposit and locker. Check passbooks, statements, cheque books and the post for what you have not found.
[ ] Write to each bank. For a fixed deposit, use the Fixed Deposit Claim Letter; for a locker, the Bank Locker Claim after a Death; if the bank asks for it, the Indemnity Bond for Deceased's Bank Claim.
[ ] Do not use the person's cards, net banking or cheque book after the death. Ask the bank how the balance is to be claimed.
[ ] List loans, credit cards and instalments. Tell each lender, and see the Legal Heir Undertaking on the Death of a Borrower. Ask whether the loan carried insurance.
D. INSURANCE, PROVIDENT FUND, PENSION AND INVESTMENTS
[ ] Life insurance: find every policy and write to each insurer with the Life Insurance Death Claim Letter.
[ ] Health or other insurance: tell the insurer; for hospital bills use the Health Insurance Claim Letter.
[ ] Provident fund and its pension: send the EPF and Pension Death Claim Covering Letter with the office's claim forms.
[ ] If the person drew a pension: apply for family pension with the Family Pension Application. For a social-security pension of your own, see the Old Age / Widow Pension Affidavit.
[ ] PPF, post office and National Savings Certificates: use the PPF, Post Office and NSC Claim without a Nominee where there is no nominee.
[ ] Shares and mutual funds: use the Shares and Mutual Funds Transmission Request. For shares of a co-operative housing society, use the Transmission of Shares on Death.
[ ] Look through bank statements for premiums, dividends and interest credits that point to accounts or holdings you have not yet listed.
E. PROPERTY
[ ] Gather the title papers: sale deed, allotment letter, society share certificate, lease and the latest tax receipt.
[ ] In Punjab, for land and houses in the revenue record, apply for the change of the owner's name; the Affidavit of Legal Heirs for a Virasat Intkal (Inheritance Mutation) goes with it.
[ ] In Chandigarh, for property held from the Administration, apply to the Estate Office; see the Application for Transfer of Ownership / Lease Rights on Intestate Death (Estate Office Annexure-1).
[ ] For other property of a person who left no will, see Transmission of Property on Intestacy.
[ ] Ask the office what stamp duty or fee applies to the transmission. This list names none.
[ ] Keep paying property tax and the society's dues until the name is changed.
F. VEHICLES
[ ] List every vehicle in the person's name. Keep the insurance in force.
[ ] Apply to the RTO on Form 31 with the heir's affidavit and the other heirs' no-objection: see Vehicle Transfer after the Owner's Death (Heir's Affidavit and Other Heirs' NOC).
[ ] If a vehicle is under a loan, get the lender's release: see the Vehicle Loan NOC / Hypothecation Termination Letter. If the registration certificate or insurance is lost, see the Duplicate RC or Insurance Affidavit.
G. IDENTITY, TAX AND GOVERNMENT RECORDS
[ ] Aadhaar, PAN, voter card, passport, driving licence, ration card: ask each issuing office what it needs to record the death. Keep the originals until then.
[ ] Ask a chartered accountant about the person's last income tax return and any tax due or refund. This list states no tax rule.
[ ] Tell the employer or former employer, and the bank or treasury that paid any pension.
H. UTILITIES AND ONLINE ACCOUNTS
[ ] Electricity, water, gas and property tax connections in the person's name: ask each provider how to change the name or close the account, and keep paying until then.
[ ] Mobile, broadband and TV connections: change the name or close them.
[ ] Email, social media, wallets and subscriptions: list them, cancel any that keep charging, and ask each provider how it deals with the account of a person who has died. Do not share passwords with strangers.
I. WHEN THE JOBS ARE DONE
[ ] Keep the folder and every reply safe.
[ ] Make or update your own will and nominations: see the Will (Vasiyat).