The short answer
If you’ve named nominees on your mutual fund folios, your family can claim your investments with relatively little paperwork. If you haven’t, they’ll usually have to go through a much slower legal process to prove they’re entitled to them, often at a difficult time.
Adding a nominee takes a few minutes. It’s one of the kindest, simplest things you can do for your family.
What happens in different situations
| Your situation | What your family goes through |
|---|---|
| You’ve registered nominees | Your nominee submits a claim form, the death certificate and their own KYC. The units are transferred to them, usually without legal documents. |
| The folio is held jointly | The surviving holder continues with the investment after submitting the death certificate. |
| No nominee and no joint holder | Your legal heirs must prove they’re entitled to the investment, often with documents such as a succession certificate, probate of a will or a legal heir certificate. This can take months and cost money. |
A nominee is not always the final owner
This surprises many people. In India, a nominee’s role is to receive your investments. Who ultimately owns them is decided by your will, or, if there’s no will, by succession law. Courts have confirmed this.
So if your nominee is your brother but your will leaves everything to your children, your brother receives the investments but is expected to pass them on to your children.
The simplest way to avoid confusion is to make your nominations and your will say the same thing. If you want your children to inherit your funds, name them as nominees too.
What changed in 2025
The rules for nominations were updated in 2025, and they now give you more flexibility:
- You can name up to 10 nominees on each folio, instead of the earlier limit of three.
- You can decide each nominee’s share, for example 50% to your spouse and 25% to each child.
- You can authorise a nominee to manage your investments if you become unable to, because of illness or incapacity, not only after death.
- You must personally make the nomination. Someone holding a power of attorney for you can’t do it on your behalf.
If you set up your investments some years ago, your nominations may predate these options. It’s worth a fresh look.
A simple checklist
- Check every folio. Nominations are recorded folio by folio, not once for all your investments. Your fund house records or your distributor can tell you which folios have nominees.
- Add nominees where they’re missing. Most fund houses let you do this online in a few minutes.
- Review after big life events: marriage, the birth of a child, a divorce, or the death of a nominee.
- Make a will, and keep it consistent with your nominations.
- Tell your family where things are. A nominee who doesn’t know an investment exists can’t claim it. Keep a simple list of your fund houses and folios, and tell someone you trust where to find it.
When it’s different
- Your nominee is a minor. You’ll need to name a guardian who manages the investment until the child turns 18.
- You’re an NRI. Your family may be spread across countries, which makes a clear list and up-to-date nominations even more important. Your nominees can claim from abroad, but the paperwork takes longer.
- A family member has passed away and you don’t know what they held. Their Consolidated Account Statement (CAS) will show their mutual fund holdings. There is also an industry tool called MITRA, run by the registrars, that helps trace forgotten or unclaimed folios.
CurateMyMoney is an AMFI-registered mutual fund distributor (ARN-184811). Mutual fund investments are subject to market risks. Read all scheme-related documents carefully. Tax rules mentioned are as applicable at the time of writing and may change; please check the current rules or consult a tax professional before acting.
