Sreemoyee Bhattacharya 17 April 2025

Bank locker without nominee issue

My in-laws shared a bank locker but didn’t name a nominee or create a will. After their passing, my husband is recognized as the only legal heir, but the bank insists on a succession certificate, even though we have a legal heir certificate. Another bank branch accepted this certificate for their joint savings account and transferred the funds to my husband's account, but this branch is causing issues with the locker. What can we do to expedite the process, as we need to move out soon? please help.

As per RBI No Nomination Rule : If there is no nominee, legal heirs must provide relevant documents, such as a Succession Certificate or Legal Heir Certificate, to claim access to the locker

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6 Replies

R.K Nanda (Advocate) 17 April 2025

Contact manager of concerned bank and sort out matter.

T. Kalaiselvan, Advocate (Advocate) 17 April 2025

If the bank manager is insisting on succession certificate to be produced by an order of a court of law, then you my have to comply with the same.

The legal heirship certificate will come to your help only for the immovable properties and not for the movable assets of the deceased.

The bank will not be willing to break the law or rules just for your urgency.

The different banks follow their own rules which certainly would differ from one another

kavksatyanarayana (subregistrar/supdt.(retired)) 17 April 2025

As per the RBI and IBA, a legal heir certificate or a succession certificate is necessary. If the bank insists on a succession certificate, you immediately approach a lawyer and apply for the succession certificate, as if you request the bank authorities, they may not favour you. Better to get it.

Dr. J C Vashista (Advocate ) 18 April 2025

What is the problem in obtaining and submission of succession certificate from jurisdictional court through a local prudent lawyer ?

Sreemoyee Bhattacharya 18 April 2025

The process of obtaining succession certificates is quite lengthy and can take nearly a year. During this time, we are required to visit the court as needed. As we are also busy with our moving preparations, I would like to know if there is any way to expedite this process. We already have a Legal Heir Certificate, which has been accepted by a different branch of the same bank.