- Date : 19/09/2019
- Read: 3 mins
According to the latest mandate, claims by heirs can be sanctioned even if there is no succession certificate, probate of will or letter of administration of the deceased estate.
A nomination is extremely critical whether it is for a bank account, insurance policy or government schemes. It ensures that the rightful heir gets the claim on death of the policyholder. This is why financial bodies insist on adding nominees to every investment instrument.
To ensure that surviving family members are not hassled, Post Office Schemes have made an amendment to their rules. This new rule has been implemented to ease the claims process, made by a legal heir after the death of the policyholder.
Until now, if no nomination was mentioned, the legal heir had to go through a lengthy and complicated claims process. They had to produce a succession certificate to prove their birth-right. If they could not produce the required documentation, the money would stay unclaimed with the Post Office. This is no longer the case.
Related: Post Office Small Saving Schemes: Latest Interest Rates And New Norms
What is the new rule?
The Department of Posts, which comes under the Ministry of Communications & IT, has issued orders for Post Office officials regarding Post Office investments.
The order states that going forward, even if no nomination is registered and there is no legal evidence available, certain Post Office authorities have the power to sanction the claim. The amendment applies to Public Provident Fund (PPF), Senior Citizen Savings Scheme (SCSS) and Post Office Savings Scheme.
This essentially means that claims can be sanctioned even if there is no succession certificate, probate of will or letter of administration of the deceased estate by the claimants. However, it can only happen at the discretion of the Post Office authority.
“The authorities mentioned are competent to sanction claims without production of legal evidence up to the limit noted against each, after expiry of six (6) months from the date of death of the depositor, if no succession certificate or probate of will or letter of administration of the deceased estate is produced during the period or up to the date of sanction,” the circular stated.
Terms to know
To ensure that the claims process is fair, the amendment has set a sanctioning limit for various authorities.
The maximum limit the Chief Postmasters General and Postmasters General have the authority to sanction is up to Rs 500,000.
The claims process can be initiated only after six months from when the policyholder passed away.
The cases that have already been decided in the past will not be reopened.
The new rule will be implemented with immediate effect.
Have a look at why you should invest in the Post Office monthly income scheme and understand how it is beneficial for you.
A nomination is extremely critical whether it is for a bank account, insurance policy or government schemes. It ensures that the rightful heir gets the claim on death of the policyholder. This is why financial bodies insist on adding nominees to every investment instrument.
To ensure that surviving family members are not hassled, Post Office Schemes have made an amendment to their rules. This new rule has been implemented to ease the claims process, made by a legal heir after the death of the policyholder.
Until now, if no nomination was mentioned, the legal heir had to go through a lengthy and complicated claims process. They had to produce a succession certificate to prove their birth-right. If they could not produce the required documentation, the money would stay unclaimed with the Post Office. This is no longer the case.
Related: Post Office Small Saving Schemes: Latest Interest Rates And New Norms
What is the new rule?
The Department of Posts, which comes under the Ministry of Communications & IT, has issued orders for Post Office officials regarding Post Office investments.
The order states that going forward, even if no nomination is registered and there is no legal evidence available, certain Post Office authorities have the power to sanction the claim. The amendment applies to Public Provident Fund (PPF), Senior Citizen Savings Scheme (SCSS) and Post Office Savings Scheme.
This essentially means that claims can be sanctioned even if there is no succession certificate, probate of will or letter of administration of the deceased estate by the claimants. However, it can only happen at the discretion of the Post Office authority.
“The authorities mentioned are competent to sanction claims without production of legal evidence up to the limit noted against each, after expiry of six (6) months from the date of death of the depositor, if no succession certificate or probate of will or letter of administration of the deceased estate is produced during the period or up to the date of sanction,” the circular stated.
Terms to know
To ensure that the claims process is fair, the amendment has set a sanctioning limit for various authorities.
The maximum limit the Chief Postmasters General and Postmasters General have the authority to sanction is up to Rs 500,000.
The claims process can be initiated only after six months from when the policyholder passed away.
The cases that have already been decided in the past will not be reopened.
The new rule will be implemented with immediate effect.
Have a look at why you should invest in the Post Office monthly income scheme and understand how it is beneficial for you.
