Inheritance made easy and Fast!

If unfortunately you have lost someone closer to you and are looking forward to transferring the amount lying in account viz. Bank Account/Pension Fund/Equity Shares/ Debentures/ Bonds lying in the name of deceased to your or anybody’s name then you would have surely come across the term ‘Succession Certificate’ which is sought as a requisition by the concerned bank/company to initiate the process of such transfer. But owing to the fact that Issuance of Succession Certificate also requires payment of Court Fee @ 2.5% of the value of security/debt as well as furnishing of surety bond before the concerned court apart from consuming a time period ranging anywhere from 3 months to 12 months all of which may together culminate it into a cumbersome process, hence before proceeding to apply for such a certificate remember that:

1. As per RBI Notification No. RBI/2004-05/490 DBOD. No. Leg. BC.95 /09.07.005/2004-05 dated 09.06.2005 all banks are allowed to fix a minimum threshold amount lying in the deceased’s account against which Succession Certificate need not be mandatorily obtained in order to establish claim over the amount belonging to Deceased. Hence, it is not in every case where Succession Certificate needs to be obtained. In order to know the threshold beyond which succession certificate is necessary to be produced, concerned bank should be contacted. However, generally this threshold ranges somewhere between Rs 1-2 Lacs subject to actual norms adopted by the concerned bank.

2. As per SEBI Circular No. SEBI/HO/MIRSD3/CIR/P/2016/0000000085 dated 15.09.2016 it is only in case where value of securities exceeds Rs 2 Lacs that a Succession Certificate is necessary to be produced. In other cases shares can be transferred by submitting necessary forms as requisitioned by the concerned company whose stocks were lying with the deceased.

3. It is not in every case of Succession Certificate where court is bound to seek furnishing of security from the petitioner before issuing such a certificate, but it is only those cases where there is a dispute qua the credibility of claimant where court can exercise its discretion of whether to ask or not to ask for furnishing of surety as a condition precedent to issuance of certificate [Arvind Nanda Vs. State] CM(M) No. 265/2020, Delhi High Court

4. Succession Certificate (which is issued under Indian Succession Act, 1925 by the court of competent jurisdiction) is different from Surviving Members Certificate which is issued by the concerned Sub-Divisional Magistrate.