After a death in the family
A calm, ordered path through the paperwork after losing someone in India: the first 30 days, the documents you will be asked for, and how to claim each kind of account, policy and asset.
There is no good order to do any of this in, but there is a workable one. Start with the first guide and go down the list only as far as your family's situation needs. Nothing here has to be done today, and most of it cannot be rushed anyway.
- 1 The First 30 Days After a Death in the Family: What to Do, in Order Start here A calm, practical guide for the hardest month.
- 2 Documents Needed After the Death of a Parent in India: A Complete Checklist A complete, plain-language checklist of the documents and exact forms an Indian family needs after a parent's death, covering LIC, EPF, PPF, bank accounts, property, and investments..
- 3 Succession Certificate or Legal Heir Certificate: Which One Do You Actually Need? Families lose months getting the wrong document.
- 4 How to Claim an LIC Policy After Death of the Policyholder: Complete Guide for India (2026) A step-by-step guide to claiming an LIC policy after death in India.
- 5 How to Claim EPF, Pension and Insurance After a Member's Death: The Complete EPFO Guide A family can be owed three separate amounts when an EPF member dies: the PF balance, a monthly pension, and up to Rs 7 lakh of EDLI insurance.
- 6 PPF and Post Office Savings After a Death: How Families Claim Them PPF accounts, post office savings, NSC, KVP and senior citizen schemes hold enormous family savings, and they sit outside every online search portal.
- 7 What Happens to a Bank Locker When Someone Dies: Access Rules, Plainly Who can open a locker after a death, with a nominee, with a survivor, or with neither.
- 8 How to Claim Shares and Dividends Stuck in the IEPF: A Complete Guide When dividends go unclaimed for seven years, the shares themselves are transferred to the government's IEPF.
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