The True Cost of Not Planning

When someone dies without a plan in India, the cost to the family can be large. There is no single number for it, but the losses come from the same places again and again: money nobody knew about, claims that stall, legal fees, and property sold in a hurry.

Start with the bank. Once a bank learns of a death, it stops operations on the person's sole accounts until a claim is settled. Under RBI's 2025 rules, a bank must settle a deceased customer's claim within 15 days of getting complete papers, and up to ₹15 lakh at a commercial bank the heirs don't need a succession certificate. Above that, or where the heirs disagree, they may need a succession certificate or other papers, which can take months. Meanwhile the family may need to borrow to cover daily expenses.

Life insurance is less of a lottery than people fear: insurers settle the large majority of individual death claims, as IRDAI's annual reports show. The claims that stall usually involve a missing policy document, a nominee who has already died, or a policy the family never knew existed. That is why thousands of crores still sit unclaimed with insurers.

Property disputes are the most expensive. Without a clear will, ancestral and self-acquired property can become a battleground. In a DAKSH survey of people with civil cases, about two in three said their case was about land or property. Such cases can run for years, legal fees add up, and some families end up selling property below its value just to settle.

None of this is rare. The fix costs less than a family dinner: document your assets, update your nominees, write a will, and tell your family where to find everything. Sort My Legacy makes this process guided, simple, and complete.

General information, not legal, tax or financial advice. Laws and rules change, so check with a qualified lawyer or CA before you act.