General information — not legal advice. Procedures differ between institutions and change without notice. Always confirm the current requirements with the bank, insurer or registrar before travelling to a branch or office.
Last reviewed: 23 August 2026 · Report an error on this page
This is the only asset here that can be losing value every day nobody acts. A bank account with no authorised signatory means suppliers unpaid, salaries unpaid and receivables uncollected, and a business that survives the founder often does not survive three weeks of paralysis.
What must be done depends entirely on the legal form, and the three forms could not be more different. A proprietorship has no separate existence from the proprietor and effectively ends with them. A partnership is governed by its deed. A company or LLP carries on regardless — the shares pass, the entity does not die.
Establish which one you are dealing with before you do anything else, and get a professional involved early. This is the guide where "consult a lawyer and a chartered accountant" is the actual advice, not a disclaimer.
Establish the legal form, in the first day or two
Look for the incorporation certificate, the partnership deed, the GST registration certificate, and the Udyam or shop-and-establishment registration. The GST certificate alone will tell you the constitution of the business.
Proprietorship — the business and the proprietor are the same person in law. Its assets and liabilities are the proprietor's estate. It cannot be inherited as an entity; an heir who wants to continue starts a new registration.
Partnership — read the deed. Some deeds provide that the firm continues with the surviving partners, some that it dissolves, some that an heir may be admitted. The deed governs.
Private limited company or LLP — the entity is unaffected. What passes to the family is the deceased's shares or partnership interest, and any directorship simply ceases.
Restore the ability to transact — this is the emergency
Days, not weeks
For a company or LLP, the surviving directors or partners can usually change the bank mandate quickly with a board resolution. Do that first: without it, nothing else functions.
For a proprietorship, the business bank account is the proprietor's account and it will be frozen on notification. There is no way to keep operating it. If the business is to continue, an heir generally has to open a new account under a new registration, which takes time — so plan for a gap and tell key suppliers and customers before they discover it.
Speak to employees early and honestly. Salaries are a legal obligation and also the thing that determines whether the business still exists in a month.
Deal with registrations and filings
Weeks 2–8
GST is the most time-sensitive. On the death of a proprietor, the registration has to be dealt with — cancelled, with a transfer of the business as a going concern to the successor where the business continues, and the successor takes a fresh registration. There are timelines attached and a CA should drive this.
For a company, the death of a director must be notified to the Registrar of Companies, and if the company is left below the minimum number of directors, that has to be remedied. A sole-director company on the death of that director is a specific problem needing immediate professional help.
Then the rest: PAN and TAN of the entity, professional tax, licences, the shop-and-establishment registration, import-export code, and any industry licence. Each has its own route.
Decide what the family actually wants
The honest question is whether anyone in the family can and wants to run it. Businesses are kept alive out of loyalty far more often than out of judgement, and a slow decline consumes the estate.
The realistic options are: continue with a family member running it, appoint a manager, sell it as a going concern, or wind it down and realise the assets. Each has a very different tax and legal path, and the choice is much easier made in month two than in year two.
Get a valuation early, whatever the intention. It anchors every later conversation, including between heirs.
Documents checklist
Take this list with you. A filled circle is asked for almost every time; a dashed one depends on your circumstances.
- Death certificateusually required
- Constitution documentsusually requiredIncorporation certificate, partnership deed, or proprietorship registrations.
- GST registration certificateusually requiredStates the constitution of the business.
- Board resolution changing bank mandatessometimes requiredCompany or LLP.
- Legal heir or succession certificatesometimes required
- Share certificates / register of memberssometimes requiredCompany.
- Articles of associationsometimes requiredMay restrict transfer of shares to heirs.
- Latest financial statements and a valuationsometimes requiredGet one early whatever you intend.
Common questions
My father ran a proprietorship. Can I just take it over?
Not as the same entity. A proprietorship has no legal existence apart from the proprietor, so it cannot be inherited. If you want to continue the business you register afresh in your own name and take a transfer of the business as a going concern. Get a CA involved — the GST steps have timelines.
What is the most urgent thing?
Banking and payroll. A business that cannot pay suppliers or salaries loses staff and customers within weeks. For a company, change the mandate by board resolution immediately; for a proprietorship, plan for a gap and warn the people affected.
The company had only one director, who has died. What now?
That needs immediate professional help. The company cannot function without a director and there are filings to make with the Registrar of Companies. Do not wait on this one.
I am the nominee for my father's shares in the family company. Are they mine?
Not necessarily. A share nomination does not override succession law, so you may hold them for all the heirs. In a family business this is where disputes begin — settle it explicitly, in writing.
Should we keep the business running?
Ask it honestly and early. Businesses are often kept alive out of loyalty rather than judgement, and a slow decline eats the estate. Get a valuation in month two, not year two, whatever you decide.
Sources
Everything on this page traces back to these. If one has changed since we checked it, the page is wrong — please tell us.
Related guides
If this helped, send it to someone who needs it. Most people find this page in the worst month of their life. Someone you know may be there now.
Nobody should have to search for this
Most of the difficulty in these pages is not the paperwork. It is not knowing what existed, where it was held, or who to ask. That part is avoidable — but only by the person who holds the information, while they still can.
KinSetu is a private record of what your family would need to find: accounts, policies, investments and documents, released to the people you name. It exists so that your family never has to reconstruct it from bank statements.
Start a free recordAbout this guide
KinSetu publishes these guides to help families understand the process of claiming assets after a death in India. They are general information, not legal, tax or financial advice, and reading them creates no professional or advisory relationship with KinSetu.
We research each guide from the institutions’ own published forms and circulars, cite them where we can, and review pages periodically. Even so, requirements vary by institution, branch, state and individual circumstance, and they change without notice. We cannot guarantee that any list of documents or steps is complete or current for your situation, and KinSetu accepts no liability for decisions taken solely on the basis of these pages.
Nomination is not inheritance. A nominee is generally the person an institution releases an asset to — not necessarily the person legally entitled to own it, which is determined by a will or by succession law. Where ownership, division between heirs, or a dispute is involved, please consult a qualified lawyer.
Found something out of date or incorrect? Tell us — we check every report and correct the page. Last reviewed on 23 August 2026.