How to get money from a deceased family member’s account

October 7, 2021 Finance Talk Valli Sarvani No comments

It is difficult to handle the death of a family member. If financial troubles are added to it, then the situation becomes worse.

Often families struggle to meet their financial needs in the event of the sudden demise of an earning member.

In such cases, other family members of the deceased withdraw funds from the account of a deceased person if they have account details and PIN.

But, as per the law, it is not legal and a punishable offence. For instance, a son withdraws money from the account of his deceased father without informing the bank and other legal heirs.

The son even though is a legal heir, has to inform other heirs about the withdrawal of funds from the account. If any other heirs lodge a complaint, the police can book him under Section 379 of the Indian Penal Code for the imprisonment of up to 3 years or fine or both.

The correct procedure is to submit a formal request to the bank to freeze the account of his father. Then, he has to approach the bank to disburse the funds along with other legal heirs by submitting the death and succession certificate of the deceased.

But, obtaining a death and succession certificate is a time-consuming process. If the family mainly depends on the earnings of the deceased, then it will be difficult for them to wait till the completion of the legal process amid financial difficulties.

That’s why the nomination is very important. The nominee can submit a claim form to get the money. Banks pay amounts to the nominee of a deceased person. If the nominee is minor, then customers have to appoint another individual who is not minor to receive money on behalf of the minor. So, it is better to give the name of an adult as a nominee so that they can receive the amount without any difficulties.

If a deceased person does not have registered a nominee name and there is no dispute among the legal heirs, they can submit a letter of indemnity cum affidavit to get the money from the bank.

Image by Aniket Sadekar (Free for commercial use / CC0 Public Domain)