Someone has died

We’re sorry. You don’t need to have everything in order to get in touch, and there is no deadline on our side.

What happens next

Tell us
Use the form below, or sign in if you already share a household with them. A person on our team will contact you within one UK working day.
We check who is asking
We confirm the death and your role, such as executor or family member, from documents you send. A death certificate on its own is never enough to open anything.
A short waiting period
Once confirmed, there is a waiting period the household chose, usually 7 days. Everyone they trusted is told. During it, people only learn that a record exists, for example that there is a will and where the original is kept.
Only what they chose to share
After the wait, each person sees only what they were given permission to see. Nothing else is released, and every step is recorded.

These steps protect the person who died and their family from someone pretending to be you. We can’t skip them, even when it would be kinder to.

Families in India usually need some of these. Not every estate needs all of them, and a lawyer in India can say which apply.

The death certificate: Issued by the local registrar or municipal office. If the death was abroad, organisations in India usually want the certificate apostilled, or attested by the Indian mission there.
Nominee claims: Banks, insurers, the EPFO, PPF, demat and mutual fund providers usually pay the registered nominee on a claim form, the death certificate and the nominee’s KYC. A nominee may be holding it for the legal heirs.
Legal heir certificate: From the tahsildar or revenue office. Often asked for pensions, smaller balances, and updating property and utility records.
Succession certificate: From a civil court, for debts and securities where there is no nominee or will. It takes longer, so it’s worth asking early whether it will be needed.
Probate: Usually needed before an executor can act on a will made in Mumbai, Kolkata or Chennai, or dealing with property there, unless the person followed Muslim personal law.
Property and lockers: Land and flats need the records updated (mutation) in the heirs’ names. A bank locker can usually be opened by the nominee or a surviving joint hirer.

General information, not legal advice. In the product, an executor’s task list sets out the ones that apply, country by country.

Please don’t send documents here. We’ll give you a secure way to share them.