Apply for succession certificate in name of legal heirs
2) mention the list of contents of locker
3) enclose death certificate of Mrs S , B and M
4) pay the court fees
5) you should get succession certificate in 6 months or so
Succession
Mrs. S had 3 children -Mr B(married to A, no children), Ms M, (did not marry) and Mr G married to Smt. J, 2 kids) The only surviving members in the family now are Ms. A, Ms J and her two kids . The locker was opened jointly (either one could operate independently) by Mrs. S and her daughter Ms M. The former passed away in 2008. Ms. M enrolled Mr. G and Mrs J as deputies (i.e. they could independently operate the locker on her behalf). Mrs. J operated the locker independently several times, and is the sole claimant. When we informed the bank about the demise of the two ladies, they denied access to the locker. Over the years we have faced a lot of harassment in procuring the required set of documents - sometimes because of incomplete information given by the bank, and sometimes due to the general lethargy of government departments. Finally we were issued a surviving member certificate by the SDM's office (comes under LG of Delhi/Revenue department) for Smt. S in favour of her daughter in law Mrs. J. We were, however denied a certificate for Ms M, citing a silly reason that the issuing software does not have the option of issuing the certificate in favour of 'sister in law'. Here's a list of documents we have submitted: 1. Claim form of the bank as prescribed 2. NOC by Mrs A 3. Letter of Indemnity 4. Surviving Member Certificate (for Mrs S in favour of Mrs J) 5. Letter of denial of Surviving member Certificate (for Ms. M) 6. Various Death Certificates and ID proofs 7. Affadavits from all survivors. 8. The will of Mrs S husband which mentions family members What should be done? Bank is insisting that we go to court, but there is an urgency and we need access to the locker within 2 months
Asked 3 years ago in Family Law
Religion: Hindu
19 Answers
If bank is not allowing you to access locker the only way is approaching the court. Immediately file a writ in HC and seek interim direction against the bank. You can also approach consumer court for seeking urgent interim relief to access locker
You have put your best efforts all these days and this process itself took more than 6 months but there is no use of having taken such steps also.
Therefore the next alternative is to approach court of law with a petition seeking succession certificate to succeed to the estates of the deceased on the basis of the relationship you have explained here.
You can implead all other members as respondents who shall certify your genuineness by expressing their no objections for you to be a successor in interest.
No doubt the court proceedings may take a little longer time, but that will be the right solution instead of looking for any short cut method.
The law will not have an answer to your urgency.
- Since, there is a letter of denial of Surviving member certificate for Ms. M , then the bank is bond to take Succession certificate, otherwise you above listed documents are enough for the same. .
- You should file a petition before the District judge for getting the Succession Certificate , after submitting the above listed documents with the death certificates of Mrs S , B and M respectively.
- If there is no objection from any of the heirs, then you can get the said certificate within a short period of time.
Succession certificate from Delhi High Court..
You may be heard in your matter by VC through Video Conferencing for issuance of certificate to all legal heirs surviving Mrs.A.
If you could get succession certificate or LOA to acquire possession on both movable and immovable properties by legal heirs.
Show the urgency in court. That court may grant interim relief to operate locker.
If bank is not agreeing than court order is only option. Request at upper level.
As per inheritance act, Ms. A will inherit half and half by Ms J her two kids.
In this case if Mrs M give up her claim for locker by an affidavit in bank then you can access the locker immediately.
Dear Sir/Madam,
You are suggested to serve a legal notice to the bank and if not complied by the bank, then go for the court case. It is sure that this case will not take much time and may be decided early.
If a succession certificate or a letters of administration is absolutely necessary then you may be required to approach the courts to have one issued.
The SDM office has stated that “whether sister in law would be a surviving legal heir could be adjudicated only by the civil court and not by any administrative authority. The admin. Authority therefore may not have any jurisdiction to issue such certificate , the same being purely of adjudicatory nature this falls exclusively under the jurisdiction of the civil court”. Can I approach the court for a surviving member certificate ?The family members would obviously remain the same. Because the bank is accepting the same. Hoping to make the process faster and also avoid paying the court fee for succession certificate.
Asked 3 years ago
If bank is willing to accept surviving member certificate then you can apply for the same
however please note that for contents of bank locker you need succession certificate
We have advised you to file application for Succession certificate before High Court and get the certificate as per due process of law.
The revenue department do not have power to issue legal heirship certificate to class II legal heirs.
You may have to approach court with a suit for declaration to declare the legal heirs or successors to succeed to the estate of the deceased owner.
Court cannot issue any such certificate called surviving family members.
Instead of filing succession certificate case you may file a declaration suit to declare the legal heirs of the deceased on the basis of the documentary evidences in your support.
Yes you can apply for surviving members Certificate.
you can apply for SMC. Legal Heir Certificate also known as Surviving Member Certificate is issued to prove the right legal heirs left behind by the deceased person..
Yes you can approach court for succession certificate or surviving member certificate.
Yes you can approach the court for surviving member certificate but it will take time
Dear Sir/Madam,
You are suggested to approach civil court as the same is only best approach as of now.
Dear Client
This is to inform you that,
- Since the bank is not recognising Ms. J as Ms. M’s legal Heir, you can send the bank the legal notice stating your urgency and to give you the access to the locker. If they refuse to honour your legal notice, then you may drag them before the High Court under article 226 of the constitution filing Writ Petition in against them for the same.
- However the likelihood of your Writ Petition being entertained is less if you do not file for Succession Certificate under Section 10 of the Hindu Succession Act along with relevant documents such as death Certificate of the members and the Locker details and stating the urgency of the matter. So initially you have to file a case under section 10 of the Hindu Succession Act and then you have to proceed against the Bank under the Writ Petition. In this way, you will the access of the Bank locker on an immediate basis while in the meantime the case will keep on continuing reaching its finality later.
- This process may take time but will help you in the long run.
