What to do with physical share certificates of deceased family members

Once the initial grief of a loved one’s demise passes, the family has to deal with property held by the deceased person. Very often, family members are left with physical share certificates held by the deceased. Here is how to manage these certificates.

Inspect the certificates
Check if the shares were held by the individual alone or jointly with some one. If it’s the latter, the shares will pass on to the joint holder. Also ascertain whether any nomination has been registered on the share certificate, and if the company still exists, or if its name has changed or it has been taken over or has merged with another company.

Approach the company
After the preliminary checks, a written application should be made to the Registrar and Transfer Agent or Share Department of the Company, enclosing the physical certificates and attested copy of the death certificate. Joint holders, if any, should sign the request letter. In case of nomination, the request should also include copy of identity documents of the nominee. In case there is no nomination, the legal heirs should submit probate of Will or succession certificate.

New certificates
After receiving the requisite documents, the company will issue physical share certificate in the name of the new holders (nominees/joint holders/legal heirs/legatee). In order to deal with these shares, they must be dematerialised first.

Demat procedure
In order to dematerialise the shares, the original certificates must be surrendered to the DP with a Dematerialisation Request Form. Once the documents are scrutinised, the DP updates the demat account of the new holder. If the new holder does not have a demat account, he must first open one and then apply for demat of the shares.

Points to note
It is a good idea to check what the documentation requirements are, as it may vary from company to company.

Keep in mind that the company in question could have shut shop or become junk rated, making it impractical to go through the procedure to demat the shares.

Content courtesy: Centre for Investment Education and Learning (CIEL). Contributions by Girija Gadre, Arti Bhargava and Labdhi Mehta.