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After a parent dies in India: the paperwork
What has to be done after a death in India and what you can do from the US: the death certificate, legal heir and succession certificates, bank claims under RBI's 2025 rules, pensions and property.
This page is for the weeks after. For getting to India safely in the first place, start with the emergency kit and a family emergency back home.
1. Death certificate
- The death is registered with the local registrar (municipality or gram panchayat) under the Registration of Births and Deaths Act; hospitals usually start this. Registration within 21 days is simplest.
- Ask for 10 or more certified copies. Banks, insurers, pension offices, the registrar and the US side (if you claim anything or update forms) each want one.
- Many states now issue certificates through the national CRS portal, which you can download.
2. Who inherits: two different certificates
- Legal heir certificate: from the Tahsildar / revenue office. Lists the legal heirs; used for pensions, utility and gas connections, small claims and some transfers.
- Succession certificate: from a civil court. Lets heirs collect debts and securities (fixed deposits, shares, mutual funds) when there’s no nominee. Takes longer and has court fees.
- A registered will simplifies everything; if there’s one, the executor may need probate depending on the state and the asset.
3. Bank accounts and deposits
Under RBI’s directions of September 2025:
- A nominee (or a joint holder on “either or survivor”) needs only a claim form, the death certificate and ID.
- Banks must settle within 15 days of receiving complete documents.
- Without a nominee, commercial banks can settle up to ₹15 lakh on simplified paperwork (indemnity, heirs’ declarations) without a succession certificate.
Your parent’s NRO account where you’re a joint holder may pass to you directly; it stays an NRO account in your name.
4. Pension, insurance and investments
- Family pension: the surviving spouse applies to the pension office with the death certificate and their own documents. Pensioners give an annual life certificate (often online through Jeevan Pramaan); stop it for the person who died.
- Life insurance: claim with the policy, death certificate and nominee’s ID.
- Mutual funds, shares, PPF: transmission to the nominee, or to heirs with a legal heir or succession certificate.
5. Property
- Update the land or municipal records (mutation) in the heirs’ names; the process differs by state.
- If heirs live abroad, one sibling usually acts with the others’ powers of attorney (see power of attorney from the US).
- Selling inherited property later: the holding period includes your parent’s ownership. See property in India.
6. US side
Money you inherit isn’t US income, but large gifts or inheritances from a foreign person (over $100,000 in a year) are reported on IRS Form 3520, and inherited Indian accounts count for FBAR. Ask your CPA.
The good
- Banks must settle a nominee's claim within 15 days of complete documents (RBI, 2025)
- Up to ₹15 lakh can be claimed without a succession certificate at commercial banks
- Much of this can be done by a sibling with your power of attorney
The hard
- Get many certified copies of the death certificate; everyone wants one
- Property records (mutation) follow state rules and can take months
- Accounts without a nominee need a legal heir or succession certificate
Sources
- Civil Registration System (CRS): registration of births and deaths
- RBI directions on settling claims of deceased customers (Sept 2025), summarised by TaxGuru
- S Jain Law: Succession certificate vs legal heir certificate
- Embassy of India, Washington: Attestation of power of attorney
Rules change often. If something here looks out of date, it probably is; check the official source and talk to an immigration attorney about your own case.