Post office small savings nomination claim process: Small Savings Scheme of Post Office for small savings is a better option of saving in the country. While a certain return is received on the deposit at the post office, the depositor’s money is also completely safe. In these schemes, the account holder also has the facility of a nominee. However, often the depositor forgets the nominee of his account. In such a situation, if the account holder dies prematurely, then who can claim the amount deposited. According to the rules, in case of misbehavior with the depositor, his nominee or legal heir has the right to claim the deposited amount. Claim can be submitted to the post office where the account / s are held. In case of death of the depositor, the amount deposited can be claimed in three ways.
If nomination
If at the time of opening the account at the post office, the depositor has already made a nominee for his account or certificate, then the nominee can claim the amount deposited. He has to submit the death certificate and nomination claim form of the account holder along with the KYC documents to the concerned post office.
Through legal evidence
If the depositor has not done the nomination, then the legal heir of the account holder can claim on the basis of legal evidence. These evidences include Probate of Will, Letter of Administration, Succession Certificate. In order to claim on the basis of legal evidence, the claimant has to submit the claim form, legal evidence and the death certificate of the account holder along with the KYC documents to the concerned post office.
If there is no nomination and legal evidence
If the account holder has not made a nominee for his account and the amount deposited is up to Rs. 5 lakh, then the claimant has to submit the claim form along with the death certificate of the account holder, Letter of Indemnity in Form-15, Affidavit in Form-13 (Affidavit) And in Form 14, letter of disclaimer of affidavit, KYC documents, witnesses, bail etc. have to be given. In the case of deposits up to Rs 5 lakh without nomination, the claim can be made 6 months after the depositor’s death. If the amount deposited in the post office savings account is more than Rs 5 lakh and there is no nomination, then the claim can be made only through the succession certificate. The limit of Rs 5 lakh will apply to each account / registration number in case of different certificates.
Know this fact too
If the depositor has made a nominee to more than one person and one of them dies, then the claimant will also have to submit the death certificate of the other nominee. There is also an important point that if all the nominees are dead, then the claim will be settled in favor of the legal heir of the last nominee and not in favor of the legal heir of the deceased depositor. Along with all the forms and documents, the claimant will also have to bring the original passbook / certificate of the account / s. If the original passbook / certificate is lost, then after accepting the claim from the concerned authority, they will have to apply to issue the passbook / certificate in their name. Various forms, letters and bonds related to claims in post office savings schemes can be seen here. https://www.indiapost.gov.in/VAS/Pages/Form.aspx#SavingBank
