Navigating Benefits After a Professor's Passing: Who Truly Inherits Pension and PF?

Query on Benefits Distribution After Demise

My grandfather, a professor, passed away a few months before his retirement. His first wife had passed away, and then he remarried. He had five children (two sons and three daughters) from his first wife, all of whom are married, and just one daughter from the second wife who is currently under 18. He nominated only two names: his second wife and the daughter from the second wife, leaving out all the children from his first wife.

Now, after his demise, who will be given the benefits: 1. PF amount, 2. Pension, 3. Job on compassionate grounds? Is it just the nominee who will receive all the benefits, and his heirs will be deprived of them, or can his heirs (children from his first wife) also claim the benefits?

Pension and Benefits for Government Employees Dying in Harness

To my understanding, in the case of a government employee dying in harness, the pension would go to the nominee, who should be the surviving spouse. After the death of the nominee, it would go to the surviving children of minor age until they attain majority. The PF accumulation would also go to the nominee. In the absence of a nominee for any reason, the claim would vest with the legal heirs.

Compassionate Appointment Eligibility

Compassionate appointment can be claimed by the spouse or children only. In the given case, as admitted, the first wife is no more, and the children born out of her are settled in life. Therefore, the surviving second wife and her minor daughter have to subsist with the family pension of the deceased. Automatically, the second wife or her minor daughter, upon attaining majority, will have a stronger stake for any job on the ground of compassion.

For more details, please refer to the Central or concerned State Government's rules.

Legal implications of affidavit and succession rights

I forgot to mention an important point regarding the recent developments in this case. After the death of my grandfather, his second wife filed an affidavit stating that she is the only wife and has the only daughter in succession. She sneakily tried to appropriate all the benefits and PF money, deliberately depriving all other heirs of the PF benefits.

In this situation, what kind of case does it become? She holds the majority in the society and has expropriated almost all things that belonged to my grandfather, such as documents, etc. Is there a legal way that can assure benefits to other heirs as well, something she doesn’t want to happen? She is using various kinds of forces.

Is the mere sole nominee who will secure the rightful ownership of the entity and relevant benefits in this case, or will all his heirs be given the benefits equitably according to the applicable succession law? Does filing an affidavit filled with erroneous information not amount to a stark violation of the law with the intention of inflicting pain on other heirs and harboring ill will against them?

Kindly provide a detailed legal view on this case.

Thank you,

Nominee is a person who holds the benefit on behalf of all entitled people.

Succession certificate will be needed in case of legal disputes.

Hi,

When it comes to job succession and pensions, the likelihood of the nominee receiving the benefits is very strong. As for properties (movable and immovable) of the deceased, both wives and children will receive a share unless specifically stated otherwise by the deceased. This is because the second marriage is valid, as is the nomination.

Thanks and Regards

Family Pension Entitlement

In the present context, it is the wife who is entitled to receive the family pension. Children are entitled after her lifetime or remarriage, if any of the children are so entitled. As a general rule, children, after reaching a specified age or upon getting employed or married, cease to be entitled. Recent amendments to the Pension Rules have made unmarried, widowed, or divorced daughters entitled to family pension. However, there is no provision for more than one person to receive a pension at a time.

Provident Fund and Gratuity Entitlement

The amount in the Provident Fund (PF) account belongs to all the legal heirs. The nominee receives the amount only as a trustee on behalf of the legal heirs. As for gratuity, the rules themselves provide the definition of 'family' who are entitled.

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