How Can Parents Claim Provident Fund When Deceased Son's Wife Is Missing?

Hi,

One of my friends met with an accident last year and he was in a coma. He had been married just a few months before the accident. While he was bedridden, his wife left him, leaving a letter as evidence with the police stating that she was leaving him and would not claim any of his property, employment dues, etc. No divorce has been obtained in a court of law.

After some time, he passed away. Now, when his aged parents submitted a claim for their deceased son's provident fund dues, it was returned, stating that since he was married, only his wife can claim. The whereabouts of his wife are now unknown.

In Form 2 for nomination, there is no mention of his wife. The nomination has been made in favor of his parents and his brother.

Please suggest how his parents can claim the provident fund dues.

Regards,
erv

Dear Mr. Erv,

How did the P.F. department know that the deceased was married? There was some mistake while filling up the claim form of the deceased. If you have a copy of the same, then forward it to my email address. I will reply accordingly. Email ID is shish_uniyal2005@yahoo.com, pf.esi.labour@gmail.com.

Shish Uniyal
09811681660

Once a member of the PF gets married, his previous nomination stands cancelled, and his wife (spouse) becomes the nominee automatically. In the event of a withdrawal or pension claim due to death, the application should be submitted with a copy of the death certificate. The death certificate will indicate whether the deceased was married. The PF authorities are not responsible for inquiring into the deceased member's family life details or determining if he/she was separated. Therefore, if the deceased's parents have proof of divorce, they can present it to the PF authorities to claim the amount.

Regards,
Madhu.T.K

Hi,

Thank you for your reply, sirs.

Actually, the PF forms were submitted as if the deceased was unmarried. The PF department requested a Legal Heir Certificate.

Upon applying for the Legal Heir Certificate, the authorities, after inquiring with local people, discovered that the deceased was married at the time of death. Now, they are refusing to issue the Legal Heir Certificate without his wife's name.

No divorce has been obtained in a court of law. They only have a certificate provided as police evidence stating that she left him and will not make any claims. However, the PF department is not accepting this certificate and is insisting on a Legal Heir Certificate.

Please advise.

erv

As already stated by me, a nomination made prior to marriage will not stand, even if he had not renominated his wife after the marriage. The PF authorities will not release the payment or pension unless they get the required legal heir's certificate. The issue of a letter in possession of the Police may be a document for any investigation by the Police department, but for PF, that letter has no relevance. If that letter could be any evidence to show that she had separated before his death, let the Police or the parents prove it in the Court and let the court decide that at the time of the death of the employee, she was not his wife or no legal relationship existed between them. Therefore, unless the matter is solved and a legal heir's certificate is obtained from the Court, the payment will not be released.

Once she gets remarried, the parents may claim the amount as there is no surviving child.

Regards, Madhu.T.K