On 24 Mar 2026 the Finance Ministry told the Rajya Sabha how much money sits unclaimed with banks, insurers and mutual funds. Some of it belongs to people who forgot. A lot belongs to families who did not know it existed, or did not know how to claim it. This module covers the paperwork that decides which family you are: nominations, joint holding, a will, and the steps a family follows after a death. It is education, not legal advice, and it says where a lawyer is needed.
unclaimed deposits moved by public sector banks to RBI's Depositor Education and Awareness Fund
Finance Ministry reply, 24 Mar 2026, as on 31 Jan 2026
unclaimed insurance amounts outstanding with insurers
Same reply, as on 28 Feb 2026 (₹8,973.89 crore)
unclaimed amounts in mutual funds under SEBI regulations
Same reply, as on 28 Feb 2026 (₹3,749.34 crore)
registered users on RBI's UDGAM portal for tracing unclaimed deposits
Same reply, as on 1 Mar 2026
Source: Ministry of Finance release of 24 Mar 2026, a reply in the Rajya Sabha. Three stocks at different dates, not a total.
5By the end you can
- Say what a nominee receives and what a legal heir receives, and why they can be different people.
- Read the current nomination limits for bank deposits, lockers, demat accounts and mutual fund folios, each with its date.
- List what a valid will needs under the Indian Succession Act, 1925, and what the 2025 amendment changed about probate.
- Walk a transmission claim step by step, with the documents and time limits SEBI and RBI set.
- Build a one page register of accounts for a family, and name the cases where a lawyer is needed.
3 terms this section turns on
A nominee is not the owner
A nomination is an instruction to an institution: when the holder dies, deal with this person. It makes the claim quick. It does not decide who owns the money. Ownership passes by succession: the will if there is one, and the personal law that governs the family if there is not.
| Role | Comes from | Receives | Settled by |
|---|---|---|---|
| Nominee | A form the holder filed | The assets, as trustee for the legal heirs | The institution's claim process |
| Legal heir | Succession law, or the will | A share of the estate | The law, and a court if disputed |
| Will beneficiary | The will | What the will gives | The will, with proof if challenged |
| Surviving joint holder | The holding mode at opening | The account, on the first death | The survivorship rule |
Four roles that people treat as one. SEBI, 23 Jul 2026, paras 4.1.1 and 7; RBI, 26 Sep 2025, paras 8 and 9.
MythI named my son as nominee, so everything in that account is his.
FactThe nominee collects as trustee for the legal heirs. Who owns the money is decided by the will or the law of succession, as the Supreme Court held on 14 Dec 2023.
Read 3 more paragraphs, 261 words
Three primary sources say it in their own words. SEBI's transmission circular of 23 Jul 2026 says a nominee receives the assets "as trustee on behalf of legal heir(s)". RBI's directions on deceased customers of 26 Sep 2025 tell a bank to state in writing that the nominee receives the payment as a trustee, and that it does not affect any claim against the nominee. And in Shakti Yezdani v. Jayanand Jayant Salgaonkar, decided on 14 Dec 2023, the Supreme Court held that a nominee of shares does not get an absolute title, and that the nomination rules do not override succession law.
An illustration with made up inputs. A sole holder dies with mutual fund units worth ₹40 lakh. The nominee is the elder son. The legal heirs are the widow and two children, and suppose the family's succession law gives the three equal shares: ₹13,33,333 each. The fund house pays the whole ₹40 lakh to the son and is discharged, as SEBI and RBI both say it is. But he holds ₹26,66,667 for his mother and sister. If he keeps it, they have a claim against him. The nomination made the payment quick. It did not make him owner of their shares.
Why nominate, then? Because of the paperwork it removes. With a nominee, SEBI's framework asks for four things: a request form, the nominee's demat details, a verifiable death certificate, and the security certificate or statement of account. Without one, the claimant adds an indemnity bond and affidavits from the other legal heirs, or a court document.
Nomination, account by account
There is no single nomination for all your money. Each institution keeps its own form, limit and date. Two changes landed in the last twelve months, one for banks and one for the securities market.
| Where | Limit | In force | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bank deposits | Up to 4, at once or in order | 1 Nov 2025 | Banking Companies (Nomination) Rules, 2025 |
| Bank lockers and safe custody | Up to 4, in order only | 1 Nov 2025 | Same rules; Finance Ministry, 23 Oct 2025 |
| Demat and mutual fund folios | Up to 3 | 1 Sep 2026 | SEBI circular, 29 May 2026 |
| PPF and Senior Citizen Savings Scheme at a bank | As the scheme provides | Scheme rules | RBI directions, 26 Sep 2025, para 6(b) |
Life insurance and provident fund have their own nomination forms. IRDAI has told insurers to collect nominee details at the proposal stage (Finance Ministry reply, 24 Mar 2026).
Banks: four nominees, two ways
The Banking Laws (Amendment) Act, 2025 allowed multiple nominations, and sections 10 to 13 came into force on 1 Nov 2025 (Finance Ministry, 23 Oct 2025). The Banking Companies (Nomination) Rules, 2025, notification G.S.R. 790(E) of 27 Oct 2025, took effect the same day. A deposit can name up to four individuals in one of two ways.
- Simultaneous. Each nominee gets a stated share, and the shares add to 100%. On ₹12 lakh with shares of 40%, 30%, 20% and 10%, the payments are ₹4.8 lakh, ₹3.6 lakh, ₹2.4 lakh and ₹1.2 lakh.
- Successive. The nominees are ranked, and the next becomes operative only when the one above has died. Lockers and safe custody allow only this kind.
Read one more paragraph, 88 words
The rules add details families meet in practice. A nomination made through internet or mobile banking needs at least two factor authentication. Only deposits in an individual capacity take one. For a minor nominee the depositor can name an adult to receive the money. A later nomination cancels the earlier one, and renewing a term deposit does not end it. On a joint deposit, a change is valid only if all the depositors make it. A form naming more than four people is read as the first four.
Two terms to hold on to from 20.10
Demat and mutual funds: the 29 May 2026 clauses
Module 1.6 tells how SEBI's limit moved from 10 nominees to 3. This is what the final circular of 29 May 2026 (SEBI/HO/OIAE/OIAE_IAD-3/P/CIR/2026/12676) says, by paragraph. It is in force from 1 Sep 2026 and replaces the 18 earlier circulars listed in its paragraph 15.
| Para | Rule | Detail |
|---|---|---|
| 4 | Default | New single holder accounts: nominate or sign the opt out declaration. Joint accounts: optional. All joint holders consent to a change. |
| 5 | Number | Up to 3. After the holder's death they may stay in one account or open separate ones. |
| 6 | Mode | Online: digital signature, e-sign or two factor authentication with an OTP. Offline: wet signature, no witness. A thumb impression needs two. |
| 7 | Fields | Mandatory: name and relationship, and date of birth for a minor. Optional: contact details, share, an identifier, a guardian. |
| 9 | Changes | Any number of times, each acknowledged. |
| 10 | Reminders | Statements print the names or Yes or No. No nomination: two messages a year and a daily pop up. |
SEBI circular of 29 May 2026. Paragraph 11 applies the same rules to existing accounts and folios.
Read one more paragraph, 78 words
With no share given, the assets are split equally, and any odd lot goes to the first nominee on the form. The opt out declaration in Annexure B is not a formality. It records that you understand three things: nomination speeds the transfer to your legal heirs, without it they may need extra court documents that can delay it, and holdings nobody claims for a long time may be moved to the Investor Education and Protection Fund Authority.
Where this section sits in module 20.10
Joint holding and survivorship
People use joint holding as a substitute for a will. It works for the first death. It does not carry through to the second.
| Account | On the first death | On the death of all holders |
|---|---|---|
| Bank deposit with a survivorship clause ("either or survivor", "anyone or survivor", "former or survivor") | The survivor is paid or carries on, on the death certificate and identity papers | The nominee, as trustee, or the legal heirs |
| Bank deposit without one | Claim through the legal heirs of the deceased holder, with the survivors | The nominee, as trustee, or the legal heirs |
| Demat or mutual fund holding | Transmission to the surviving joint holder, on a copy of the death certificate alone | The nominee, as trustee, or the legal heirs |
RBI, 26 Sep 2025, paras 7(a), 8, 10 and 14; SEBI, 23 Jul 2026, para 7, which applies unless a company's articles say otherwise.
Read 2 more paragraphs, 193 words
RBI's directions state the key sentence for banks: in a joint deposit, with or without a survivorship clause, the nominee's right arises only after the death of all the depositors. SEBI's rule of survivorship says the entity shall not ask the surviving joint holder for KYC, indemnities or undertakings, only the death certificate. A jointly opened term deposit can be broken early after a death with the consent of the survivors and the heirs of the deceased, unless all depositors gave a specific mandate beforehand.
Now the chain. A couple holds ₹60 lakh of shares in a joint demat account. One dies, and the survivor takes the whole holding on a death certificate. That is the fast part. The survivor's own nomination, or opt out, now decides what happens at the second death, and the survivor's will decides who owns it. The paperwork has moved one step down the road, not disappeared. Where the couple have children from different marriages, the first death can also hand everything to the survivor in a way the first spouse did not intend. That is a conversation for the family and, if it matters, a lawyer.
Wills: what makes one valid
A will says who gets what, made while you are alive and effective when you are not. The Indian Succession Act, 1925 sets the formal tests in sections 59 and 63. I have read both in the Act's text. They are shorter than most people expect.
Read one more paragraph, 85 words
Two nearby rules. Section 62: a will can be revoked or altered by its maker at any time while competent, so it is never final until death. Section 67: a bequest to a person who attests the will, or to that person's spouse, is void for that person; the will itself is not invalid. Nothing in sections 59 to 63 makes registration a condition of validity. Whether to register or deposit a will for the evidence is a question for a lawyer in your state.
Which law decides
The 1925 Act is one of several laws, and the family decides which applies. This table is a set of pointers to ask about, not a rule for your case.
| Family | Law to ask about | Why it matters |
|---|---|---|
| Hindu, Buddhist, Sikh, Jain | Hindu Succession Act, 1956, and the 1925 Act for wills | Who inherits without a will |
| Muslim | Muslim personal law | Limits on what a will can give |
| Christian, Parsi | Indian Succession Act, 1925 | Its own rules for wills and intestacy |
| Married under the Special Marriage Act, 1954 | Indian Succession Act, 1925 | It can apply whatever the faith |
Pointers only. The 1925 Act's own text excludes Muslim wills from its main will provisions and applies others by faith and place.
Probate, in broad terms
Three court documents appear in every claim checklist. Probate is the court's certified copy of a will, granted to the executor it names. Letters of administration are granted when there is no executor, or the will cannot be carried out as written. A succession certificate lets a person collect the debts and securities of the deceased, under Part X of the Act (section 370 onward).
Where a lawyer is needed. Any dispute or competing claim: SEBI's framework and RBI's directions both stop their simplified route and send the parties to a court. A will that is unsigned, has fewer than two witnesses, or is challenged. Immovable property in more than one state. A minor beneficiary, or one who cannot manage money. A family business or shares in a private company. Assets or an heir abroad. A nominee who is not a legal heir, where the family does not agree. Drafting a will or a trust, as opposed to filling in a nomination form. This module cannot replace that advice.
₹100 in Dynamic Asset Allocator became about ₹388 in the model
Read 2 more paragraphs, 176 words
Until December 2025, section 213 made probate or letters of administration a precondition for establishing a right as executor or legatee in court, for a defined group of wills, mainly those made in the old presidency towns of Madras, Bombay and Calcutta, and Parsi wills, but not Muslim wills. The Repealing and Amending Act, 2025 (Act 37 of 2025, assent on 20 Dec 2025, gazetted on 21 Dec 2025) omitted section 213 and trimmed section 370 to match. Probate is still available. Whether to seek it is a lawyer's call, especially for a large estate, many beneficiaries or any chance of dispute.
Institutions have adjusted. RBI's directions say a bank settles an undisputed will claim on probate or letters of administration, but is free to act on the will without probate if that is consistent with the law, the heirs and beneficiaries do not dispute it and the bank is satisfied it is genuine. SEBI's July 2026 framework dropped mandatory probate and, above its simplified limit, accepts a copy of the will with an indemnity bond.
Making the will and the nominations agree
Because the nominee collects and the will decides ownership, the two documents can point different ways. A will leaves all shares to a daughter, and the demat nominee is a son. After the death the son claims quickly through the nomination, and holds the shares as trustee. The daughter, as beneficiary under the will, is entitled to them. The law gives the answer, and the family may still need a lawyer or a long conversation to reach it. Making the nominee the person the will names, or telling the nominee what the will says, closes the gap before it opens.
Transmission, step by step
Transmission is the transfer of securities from the dead holder's account to the heir's. SEBI replaced the process on 23 Jul 2026 with one framework for listed shares and mutual fund units. It came into force 30 days after issue, which I count as 22 Aug 2026, and it binds every listed company, registrar, depository, depository participant and fund house.
- CertificateGet a verifiable death certificate.
- FindList the holdings, then search the tracing portals.
- AccountThe claimant needs a demat account for the shares to land in.
- CategoryValue the claim: QTP, simplified or above the limit.
- FileStandard forms. The entity flags any gap at once.
- Wait21 calendar days from the last document.
Where this section sits in module 20.10
| Category | Demat | Physical | Adds to the common documents |
|---|---|---|---|
| Nominee on record | No limit | No limit | Nothing: form, client master list, certificate, statement |
| Quick Transmission Processing | ₹30,000 | ₹10,000 | Proof of relationship and a plain paper undertaking; parents, spouse, children, parents in law only |
| Simplified | ₹30 lakh | ₹10 lakh | Notarised indemnity bond; affidavit with no objection from all legal heirs, or a family settlement deed |
| Above the limit | Over ₹30 lakh | Over ₹10 lakh | Affidavit; and a will copy with a bond, or a legal heirship certificate, or a court document |
SEBI circular of 23 Jul 2026, paras 3 and 4 and Annexure 1. Demat limits are per beneficial owner; physical limits per listed entity, which may raise them; for units, per fund house. A succession certificate, probate, letters of administration or decree removes the need for the bond and for no objection from non claimant heirs. A legal heirship certificate comes from a revenue authority not below a Tehsildar.
Read 2 more paragraphs, 197 words
A verifiable death certificate is the original, or a copy the nominee attests and checks against the original; a copy attested by a notary public, a Gazetted Officer or a Judicial Magistrate First Class; or a certificate with a QR code. The claimant sets the value from the previous closing price on a recognised stock exchange for shares, and the last NAV for units. The value picks the category.
Take ₹25 lakh of shares in a sole holder's demat account, claimed by a daughter. With a nominee, she files the form with her client master list, the death certificate and a statement. With none, ₹25 lakh sits under the ₹30 lakh simplified limit, so she adds the bond, on stamp paper of the value her state sets, and either affidavits from the other heirs or a family settlement deed. At ₹31 lakh she would be above the limit and need the will, a legal heirship certificate or a court document. The entity has 21 calendar days from the last required document, and must give written reasons for a delay or a rejection. The framework does not apply to contesting or competing claims, which go to a court.
Banks and lockers
RBI's directions follow a similar shape. The simplified threshold is ₹5 lakh for a co-operative bank and ₹15 lakh for any other bank, or a higher limit the bank sets, and applies only where there is no nomination, no will and no contest. Below it the bank takes a claim form, death certificate, identity papers, a bond of indemnity, no objection letters from non claimant heirs, and a legal heir certificate or a declaration by a well known independent person. Above it, a succession certificate, or the legal heir certificate or an affidavit, with a surety bond if the bank asks.
Read one more paragraph, 83 words
A deposit claim must settle within 15 calendar days of the last document. If the bank is at fault it pays interest of not less than the Bank Rate plus 4% a year for the delay. For a locker, the bank fixes an inventory date within 15 days, and pays ₹5,000 for each day of delay beyond it. The Finance Ministry's reply of 24 Mar 2026 says these directions are now consolidated under RBI's Responsible Business Conduction Directions, 2025, so check that text.
Finding what exists
The hardest step is often the second. A family cannot claim an account it does not know about. The monthly consolidated account statement lists securities and folios under your PAN (module 1.6). RBI's UDGAM portal searches unclaimed deposits across banks in one place. SEBI's MITRA platform, set up by a circular of 12 Feb 2025, searches inactive mutual fund folios: no investor initiated transaction in 10 years but a unit balance remains. For insurance the Finance Ministry's reply names IRDAI's Bima Bharosa portal, and adds that a regulators' working group is building one portal for all of them. Waiting has a price: bank balances not operated for 10 years or more move to the Depositor Education and Awareness Fund, and securities can pass to the Investor Education and Protection Fund Authority.
The document checklist
The same list, seen from two ends: what a person keeps current, and what a family needs at a claim.
Kept current by the account holder, once a year:
- A one page register of every account and policy: institution, type, holding mode, nominee, and where statements arrive.
- Nominations filed and acknowledged for every account, and changed after a marriage, birth, divorce or death.
- PAN, KYC, mobile number and email current at each institution, because alerts and OTPs go there.
- The will, with two witnesses who are not beneficiaries or their spouses, its location, and the executor's contact.
Needed by the family at a claim:
- Several certified copies of the death certificate in a verifiable form, since each institution wants its own.
- The claimant's identity and address proof, PAN, a bank account and a demat account in their name.
- The will, or a legal heirship or succession certificate where the framework asks for one.
- Non judicial stamp paper of the right value for any indemnity bond or affidavit.
- The latest statements and each nomination acknowledgement.
Digital access for the family
Almost every account sits behind a phone number and an email. The OTP goes to the registered mobile, and an online nomination is validated by a digital signature, an e-sign or an OTP, as SEBI's circular lists. If the phone is locked or gone, the family cannot use the account, and the route is the claim process, not the login.
Read one more paragraph, 125 words
Two things follow. Using the dead person's login to move money or trade is not transmission: the institution treats the account as the holder's until told otherwise, and module 1.6 explains the scams that depend on someone else holding your login. The legal route takes weeks, not hours. And a list of where things are, kept with a trusted person, shortens the search more than any password does: institutions, account types, nominees, where statements arrive. A will is shown to registrars, banks and courts, so keep passwords out of it. SEBI lets a family share one mobile number and email at your written request: spouse, dependent children and dependent parents. A spouse's number on the account means the alerts reach the person who must act.
Tax, in one paragraph
Inheriting is not the taxed event; selling is. Under the Income-tax Act, 2025, in force from 1 Apr 2026, money or property received under a will or by way of inheritance is excepted from the receipts taxed as income from other sources (section 92(3)). Section 73(1) sets the cost of an asset that came by gift, will, succession or inheritance as the previous owner's cost, plus improvements by the previous owner or the heir. An heir who sells shares the deceased bought for ₹20 lakh, now worth ₹50 lakh, computes a gain of ₹30 lakh before tax. The rate depends on the asset and the holding period, which a chartered accountant works out. The section numbers are read from the Bill as introduced (Bill No. 24 of 2025); check them in the Income Tax Department's text of the Act as amended by the Finance Act, 2026.
How this shows up in RupeeCase
RupeeCase is a technology platform. It never holds your money or your shares, and it does not record your nominees. The shares of a portfolio sit in your own demat account with your own broker, so the nomination for them is the one on that demat account, and a claim runs through that broker and its depository participant under the framework above. The tutorial Broker positions: does the app hold my money or shares? shows where each piece sits.
Questions readers ask
Do I have to nominate in a demat account?
For a new single holder demat account or folio from 1 Sep 2026, you either nominate or sign the opt out declaration. For a joint account it is optional. Existing accounts without a nomination get two reminders a year and a pop up at the first login of the day (SEBI, 29 May 2026).
My nominee is my spouse but my will names my children. Which wins?
The nominee collects as a trustee; the will decides who owns the assets. If they differ, the nominee holds for the beneficiaries under the will. Making both say the same thing avoids the argument.
Is probate still needed?
Not as a general precondition. Section 213 of the Indian Succession Act, 1925 was omitted by the Repealing and Amending Act, 2025, and SEBI's July 2026 framework dropped mandatory probate. A bank may still ask for it in some cases, and whether to seek it is a question for a lawyer.
Key takeaways
- A nominee collects as trustee for the legal heirs; the will or succession law decides ownership (SEBI, 23 Jul 2026; RBI, 26 Sep 2025; Supreme Court, 14 Dec 2023).
- Banks take up to 4 nominees from 1 Nov 2025, at once or in order. Demat accounts and folios take up to 3 from 1 Sep 2026.
- Joint holding settles the first death quickly and leaves the second death where it was.
- A valid will needs a capable maker, a signature and two attesting witnesses (Indian Succession Act, sections 59 and 63). Probate is no longer a general precondition since 20 Dec 2025.
- SEBI's transmission limits are ₹30,000 and ₹30 lakh for demat, ₹10,000 and ₹10 lakh for physical, with 21 days to process; banks have 15 days.
- A one page register, current nominations and a family that knows where to look do more than any single form.
Rules and figures in this module were last verified on 31 Oct 2026. Tax and regulatory rules change; check the source before acting.
