Nominee is only trustee for legal heirs 

2) issue legal notice to bank bot to disburse money lying in fixed deposits to your sister without your  consent 

3) apply for and obtain succession certificate from district court 

A nominee acts only as a custodian or trustee for the proceeds of the deceased's bank balances. He/she cannot legally claim to be the sole inheritor of the deceased's savings in bank accounts. But unless any court injunction is brought out restraining the bank from paying the nominee, the bank shall legally get a good discharge (literally meaning, washing off its hands in the matter) by making payment under the deceased's nomination mandate. In the circumstances, it is better to file a suit, by engaging a competent advocate for the purpose, at the proper court for declaration of your title as a legal heir of the deceased and for claiming your lawful share in the estate. Request your lawyer to move an interim application for an order restraining the nominee from making use of the savings balances till the final disposal of the suit.

Under Indian Succession Law, a nominee is merely a custodian or trustee of the funds and not the absolute owner or legal heir (unless explicitly named as the sole beneficiary in a valid Will). As a son (Class I legal heir), you and your sisters have equal legal rights to your father’s estate if he died intestate.Under RBI guidelines, banks are legally bound to release funds to the registered nominee to obtain a valid discharge of their liability.

The nominee holds the disbursed money in trust for all Class I legal heirs. Under the Hindu Succession Act, 1956, all children share intestate property equally. Once your sister receives the funds, she is legally obligated to distribute your 1/3rd share to you.

Since the bank will not withhold disbursement to a valid nominee based solely on an email or letter, you may  issue a Legal Notice via Registered Post with Acknowledgment Due, informing the bank of the dispute and your intention to approach a Civil Court for an injunction/Succession Certificate, infor them that  the nominee status does not make her the sole owner, and demanding that she hold the funds in trust for all three siblings in equal shares (1/3rd each).

• File a Civil Suit for Partition and Injunction in the local Civil Court having jurisdiction.

• Move an application for Temporary Injunction under Order 39, Rules 1 & 2 of the Code of Civil Procedure (CPC) to restrain the bank from disbursing the money to the nominee during the pendency of the suit, or to restrain your sister from withdrawing/utilizing the funds.

• Once a court grants an interim injunction or status-quo order, serve it on the bank manager. The bank must obey a court order to freeze disbursement.

.If there is no valid Will, any Class I legal heir can apply to the District Civil Court for a Succession Certificate under Section 372 of the Indian Succession Act.

If he died without will then your right will be equal share iin his property. If he has any Real executed, then the Share in the property will be as per the said, will

Dear Client,

If your father died without a Will and your mother is not alive, the three children would usually have equal shares in his estate. Your sister being the nominee does not by itself make her the owner; nomination generally enables her to receive the money from the bank, subject to the rights of the legal heirs. Therefore, you may immediately send SBI a formal legal notice stating your claim and requesting that the amount not be released without resolving the question of succession. If necessary, you may approach the civil court for appropriate protection. Regarding the five-year bank statement and Fixed Deposit details, SBI may not provide complete information to you solely because you are a legal heir. You may seek the information through the succession proceedings. You are advised to contact a lawyer with all the details.

Thank you for contacting us, if you have any further queries kindly do not hesitate to contact again. Thankyou.

Sir, on the facts stated, the nominee being your elder sister does not, by itself, make her the owner of your deceased father’s ₹70 lakh FDs and savings-bank balance. A bank nominee is generally a person authorised to receive the money from the bank after the account holder’s death; the ultimate beneficial entitlement is governed by succession law, the Will, if any, and the deceased’s applicable personal law.

Therefore, if your father died intestate and you, your elder sister and younger sister are the surviving Class-I heirs under the Hindu Succession Act, and there is no surviving widow or other Class-I heir, the three children would ordinarily inherit the estate in equal shares—1/3 each. If your mother was alive at your father’s death, however, the calculation would be different.

1. What you should immediately do

You should send SBI a formal written objection/claim-cum-intimation of succession, preferably by registered post/email to the Branch Manager, with copies to the Regional Office/controlling office. State expressly that you are a legal heir and that the nomination does not constitute a testamentary disposition in favour of the nominee.

You should request SBI to record your claim/dispute and not make payment to the nominee without following the applicable deceased-claim/succession procedure. However, you should understand that the bank may still be entitled to discharge its liability by paying the nominee under its banking rules. If SBI does so, that does not necessarily extinguish your substantive inheritance claim against your sister.

If there is a genuine apprehension that the nominee will withdraw the entire amount and refuse to distribute your share, the safer course is to approach the competent civil court for appropriate relief, including a declaration of your share and, where circumstances justify it, an injunction against dissipation of the estate.

2. First ascertain whether your father left a Will

This is extremely important.

If your father left a valid Will, the distribution will ordinarily follow the Will rather than an intestate succession calculation.

If there is no Will, and the three of you are the only surviving Class-I heirs, your claim would ordinarily be for 1/3 of the net estate, subject to any other surviving Class-I heirs, debts, liabilities, etc.

The fact that your sister was made nominee in all the FDs does not by itself establish that your father intended to gift or bequeath the entire ₹70 lakh to her.

3. Regarding the five-year bank statement

SBI may legitimately be cautious about giving a deceased customer’s complete account information to one alleged heir merely upon production of an Aadhaar card and family-member certificate.

You should therefore make a formal application to SBI supported by proof of your status as a legal heir and specifically seek:

• the account number(s);
• date of death balance;
• FD numbers and principal amounts;
• date of creation and maturity;
• nomination details;
• lien/loan/encumbrance, if any;
• interest accrued;
• account statement for the relevant period; and
• particulars of all deposits standing in your father’s name.

If the bank refuses, ask it to provide the refusal in writing, specifying the rule/policy under which the information is being withheld. Do not rely only upon oral statements made by branch staff.

You can also escalate the grievance through SBI’s formal grievance mechanism and thereafter, if necessary, pursue the appropriate banking-regulatory/grievance forum depending upon the precise nature of the refusal.

4. If SBI pays everything to your elder sister

Do not assume that payment to the nominee means you have lost your inheritance.

There is an important distinction between nomination and succession. Nomination is primarily intended to provide the bank with a mechanism for making payment following the customer’s death. It does not ordinarily operate as a Will by which the deceased transfers beneficial ownership of the money to the nominee.

Thus, if the three children are legally entitled to equal shares and your sister receives the entire amount as nominee, you can still assert your 1/3 beneficial/successionary share against her.

If necessary, proceedings can seek:

declaration of your 1/3 share + rendition of accounts + recovery of your share + consequential injunction/other appropriate relief.

5. Do not simply ask SBI to divide the money equally

Your request should instead be legally framed as a succession claim and objection to exclusive disbursement, because SBI is not necessarily the authority that determines the ultimate succession rights of competing heirs.

The bank’s role is generally to settle the deceased customer’s account in accordance with its rules and the documents/orders produced. A dispute between heirs may ultimately have to be resolved through succession/civil proceedings.

6. Obtain the complete estate information

I would recommend that you first prepare a complete list of your father’s assets, not merely the SBI account known to you. Send SBI a separate request asking it to identify all accounts/FDs held in his name at that branch and, if necessary, make the request to the relevant SBI administrative office.

You should also check whether your father had:

• accounts/FDs at other banks;
• post-office deposits;
• mutual funds;
• shares/demat accounts;
• insurance policies;
• lockers;
• bonds;
• property;
• pension arrears;
• other investments.

This becomes particularly important if you suspect that the nomination was changed shortly before his death or that money was transferred elsewhere.

7. If the sister is trying to withdraw the money immediately

In that situation, I would not wait indefinitely for correspondence with SBI.

You can issue a formal legal notice to SBI and your elder sister recording your succession claim and calling upon the sister not to appropriate the entire estate. If there is a real and immediate apprehension of withdrawal/dissipation, the appropriate civil proceedings can be considered for protection of the estate.

The court can then determine the competing rights rather than leaving the matter to an informal understanding between the siblings.

8. One important point about the ₹70 lakh

The ₹70 lakh does not automatically become divisible merely because there are three children. Before calculating your exact share, we need to know:

(a) whether your mother was alive on the date your father died;
(b) whether your father left any Will;
(c) whether there are any other surviving Class-I heirs;
(d) whether any of the FDs were joint accounts rather than solely in your father’s name; and
(e) whether any FD nomination was accompanied by a separate testamentary document or declaration.

If your father was Hindu, died intestate in May 2026, your mother had already died, and you and your two sisters are genuinely his only Class-I heirs, then the starting position would ordinarily be 1/3 share each, irrespective of your elder sister being the nominee.

I would therefore suggest that you immediately send a properly drafted legal objection/claim to SBI and a separate notice to your elder sister, rather than merely continuing to send emails to the branch. If SBI ultimately pays the nominee, the legal strategy should then focus on enforcing your succession share against the nominee rather than treating the bank payment as conclusive ownership.

Dear Sir/Madam, 

It is suggested that nominee is just the custodian of the properties/assets of the deceased father and not the absolute owner. The same must be distributed among all the legal heirs. You are suggested to file a case before the District Court seeking partition for the assets/monies of your father along with an application restraining the bank to disburse money to sister alone.  

According to settled Indian law, a nominee is merely a trustee or custodian, not the absolute owner of the assets. The Supreme Court in Sarbati Devi v. Usha Devi (1984) and Shakti Yezdani v. Jayanand Jayant Salgaonkar (2023) held that nomination does not override succession laws—the nominee must hold the funds for distribution to legal heirs. As a Class I legal heir under the Hindu Succession Act, you are entitled to an equal share alongside your sisters.

To protect your rights: (i) immediately file a stay order application before the civil court to restrain the bank from disbursing funds until the dispute is resolved; (ii) apply for a succession certificate—SBI's own guidelines require one when there is a dispute among legal heirs; (iii) the bank's refusal to provide account statements can be challenged through a legal notice or by making the bank a party in the succession petition, which can then compel production of records. Do not rely on the bank's oral assurances—act through a lawyer immediately.