With no will and no nominee, a parent's FDs, mutual funds and flat pass to the legal heirs under the family's personal law, and each one is claimed by proving who those heirs are. Below a limit per bank and per fund house, simpler papers are enough: an indemnity, the other heirs' consent and, at a bank, a declaration from someone who knows the family; above it, the claim needs stronger proof, such as a legal heir certificate or a succession certificate.

Succession without a will, called intestate succession, follows the deceased's personal law. For Hindus, Buddhists, Jains and Sikhs it is the Hindu Succession Act, 1956: a man's property goes first to his Class I heirs, and his widow, each son, each daughter and his mother take one share each. A Hindu woman's property goes first to her children and husband. Christians and Parsis follow the Indian Succession Act, 1925, and Muslims their personal law; Goa has its own code, and joint-family property follows different rules.

Ajay earns ₹35 lakh a year. His father held everything alone, with no nominee, and left FDs of ₹18 lakh across three banks, two mutual fund folios worth ₹12 lakh and a ₹45 lakh flat, ₹75 lakh in all. His father's mother died earlier, so there are four heirs: Ajay, his mother and his two siblings, a quarter each, or ₹18,75,000.

A disputed estate needs a lawyer.

What documents do banks and fund houses ask for?

If an FD or folio was joint with a survivorship clause, it passes to the survivor on the death certificate (a bank also takes a claim form and the survivor's ID), and none of this applies.

The RBI's deceased-depositor rules, mandatory since 31 March 2026, set a simplified procedure for claims below ₹15 lakh per bank (₹5 lakh at a co-operative bank), or a higher one a bank sets, counting interest. SEBI's transmission rules of July 2026 set ₹10 lakh per fund house for units held in a folio. Since 2023, post office deposits, and PPF or SCSS held at a bank, differ: if no legal heir certificate or court document is produced within six months of the death, up to ₹5 lakh may be paid on an affidavit, disclaimer and indemnity; above that, one of those documents is needed.

Asset Value Limit Route
FD, bank A ₹9 lakh ₹15 lakh Simplified
FD, bank B (co-operative) ₹6 lakh ₹5 lakh Heirship proof
FD, bank C ₹3 lakh ₹15 lakh Simplified
Folio, fund house 1 ₹8 lakh ₹10 lakh Simplified
Folio, fund house 2 ₹4 lakh ₹10 lakh Simplified

Below the limit, banks A and C need a claim form, the death certificate, identity and address proof of each claimant, an indemnity bond, no-objection letters from heirs who are not claiming, and either a legal heir certificate or a declaration from an independent person who knows the family.

Bank B's ₹6 lakh FD is over ₹5 lakh, so unless it has set a higher limit, it needs those papers plus a legal heir certificate or a sworn affidavit from that person, and the bank may ask for a surety. Banks must settle within 15 days of receiving every document, and an FD can close early on death without penalty.

For the transmission of mutual funds, both folios sit below ₹10 lakh: a transmission request form, the death certificate, the account statement, a notarised indemnity bond and a notarised affidavit-cum-NOC signed by all four heirs on state stamp paper. Above ₹10 lakh, a fund house also wants a legal heir certificate or a succession certificate. A complete claim must be processed within 21 days.

Inheritance is not taxed; the income it earns afterwards is. Ajay's quarter of the FDs, ₹4,50,000, would earn ₹29,250 a year at an assumed 6.5%, with ₹9,126 going in tax at 30% plus 4% cess. When units are sold, mutual fund capital gains tax applies, using his father's cost.

How does the flat pass to the heirs?

The heirs usually apply to the housing society to transfer the share certificate, and to the municipal or revenue office to change the name on the property tax record (mutation). Both usually ask for the death certificate, a legal heir certificate and the other heirs' consent.

If the family wants Ajay's mother to own the flat, Ajay and his siblings sign a release deed in her favour, registered with the sub-registrar, with stamp duty set by the state.

In what order should the family claim?

Get several death certificate copies first, then apply for the legal heir certificate from the revenue office, which the flat usually needs and the co-operative bank accepts. The other claims go in meanwhile.

What should you change in your own accounts?

A nominee would have spared most of this, as money steps after a spouse dies shows. Bank deposits can carry up to four nominees from 1 November 2025, under the Banking Laws (Amendment) Act, 2025, and folios and demat accounts take nominees too. A nominee collects the money for the legal heirs, as nominee vs legal heir explains, so a will is what decides who keeps it.

Dhi looks at your cash flow, net worth, protection and goals together, so inherited FDs and funds sit in the same picture as your own. Dhi maps the investments you hold to your goals and answers questions from your own numbers.

Frequently asked questions

A legal heir certificate is issued by the state's revenue office, usually a tehsildar or equivalent, and names the heirs. A succession certificate is granted by a civil court under the Indian Succession Act, 1925, after a public notice, and lets the holder collect debts and securities. Banks and fund houses accept either above their limits; the court route takes longer and is the one used when heirs disagree.
Start with passbooks, FD receipts and the bank accounts listed in the parent's last income tax return. The consolidated account statement sent to the parent's registered email lists folios across fund houses. For deposits left unclaimed for ten years, the RBI's UDGAM portal searches across banks.
Yes, if every other legal heir signs the bank's letter of disclaimer or no objection; the bank then pays the one claimant. How that money is shared afterwards is for the family to agree.

This is general information for salaried individuals in India, not personalised financial advice.