Struggling to Obtain a Legal Heir Certificate for Death Benefits – Need Urgent Help and Guidance

Hi all, my father passed away on December 19, 2011. The company is requesting a legal heir certificate to claim the death benefits. He did not fill out Form 2, indicating a nominee. Therefore, the company is not accepting just the affidavit stating that my mother and I are the legal heirs.

I tried to gather information and discovered that the certificate must be obtained from the Tehsildar of Jaipur (Rajasthan) as I reside here. Despite reaching out to the Tehsildar and lawyers, they informed me that the certificate must be obtained through the court or the district magistrate.

I urgently need your help with this matter. I require guidance on the process of obtaining a legal heir certificate quickly and efficiently, including all necessary contacts, addresses, and details.

Thank you very much.

I am not aware of all the alternatives. You would need to obtain a succession certificate from the court, where all the movable and immovable properties are mentioned.

It is not clear to me how long your father worked in the organization before his death. Primarily, it is the responsibility of the employer to take nominee declarations on the day of joining while doing onboarding formalities, seeking family members' names for the settlement of gratuity, insurance claims, death claims, or final settlements.

While sending monthly returns for PF, ESI of new joiners, it is the employer's responsibility to submit respective (Form 2) declarations along with contributions. How could they miss this procedure?

In the absence of a declaration, a legal heir certificate will help in settling the nominee claim. Nowadays, Tahsildar or MRO are empowered to issue family member certificates, which will help to settle claims. For a family certificate, you need to submit a voter card, Aadhaar/Ration card, and proof of the living address. As the first member of the family, your mother will be eligible, and then dependent family members - unmarried son/daughter who are minors. You need to submit nominee claim forms through the employer last employed. In case the employer resists forwarding the same, seek the help of a legal counsel to represent the matter.

For releasing the PF payments, the employer should authorize all the documents supporting the claim forms. You need to attach the legal heir, death certificate (in the case of normal death), otherwise FIR, POST MORTEM, PANCHANAMA, savings bank account first-page copy of the claimant/s, preferably State Bank of India, passport photographs duly signed by the employer.

Please approach the employer to help in this regard.

Regards