Rule Change: Transferring Deceased Parents' Shares and Mutual Funds Made Easier; No More Hassle of Wills and PAN

Rule Change: SEBI has significantly simplified the rules for transferring investments (shares and mutual funds) held by deceased individuals to their legal heirs. Along with doubling the claim limit, SEBI has eliminated the requirement for several mandatory documents. Here are the full details.

Rule Change: Often, after a person's death, transferring their investments (such as shares and mutual funds) to the names of their children or legal heirs used to be a major hassle.

It involved months of running around courts and submitting heaps of paperwork. But that will no longer be the case. SEBI, the stock market regulator, has introduced historic changes to the rules to make this entire process much simpler, cheaper, and faster.

No Need to Resubmit PAN Card

SEBI approved these new rules during its board meeting on June 19. Under the new regulations, there is no longer a need to repeatedly submit a copy of the PAN card when transferring shares or mutual funds. SEBI states that when a legal heir opens a demat account, their PAN details are already present in the system; therefore, asking for the same document again is entirely unnecessary.

Hassle of Will 'Probate' Eliminated Forever

The most significant aspect of this change is the removal of the mandatory requirement for a 'probate' of the will. A probate is essentially a legal certificate issued by a court to prove the authenticity of a will. Obtaining this certificate used to waste months of the heirs' time and incur hefty legal fees. Now, in light of new changes in succession laws, SEBI has completely done away with this requirement.

Claim limit doubled

SEBI has raised the limit for settling claims with minimal documentation to provide immediate relief to small investors.