Know About Nomination

All you need to know about bank nominations -Economic Times
Altering nominations

Nominations by single or joint holders of a bank or investment account indicate the person who can access the accounts or investments in the event of the death of the first holder.

The nomination can be changed any number of times during the lifetime of the first holder and supersedes the existing nominations. In the event of the death of the account holder, the most recent nomination is considered valid.

Prescribed forms

Nominations can only be made in the prescribed forms for most investments, including bank accounts, pension accounts, mutual funds, and shares and bonds in a demat account.

The forms can be downloaded from the websites of banks, mutual funds or depositories.

Multiple nominees 

There can be one or more nominees with proportional shares indicated in the nomination form. One cannot add nominees to an account and a new request has to be made for every change in nomination, including names and proportions.

Signatures 

All joint holders have to sign a valid nomination. Even if an account is operated on an 'either or survivor' basis, the nomination alters the rights of account holders and, hence, has to be signed by all of them.

No approvals 

There is no need to notify the nominees, existing or new, about any changes in nomination. Such notification is completely at the discretion of the account holders.

The existing nominees do not have any right to approve or disapprove of a nomination.

Points to note 

1. A change in nomination in favour of a spouse is commonly done in the PF, PPF and bank accounts, where nominees may have been parents at the time of opening the account.

2. A change in nomination in the name of minors can be done provided the guardians' details are also provided.
The content on this page is courtesy Centre for Investment Education and Learning (CIEL). Contributions by Girija Gadre and Arti Bhargava 

Link Economic Times