What Happens to Your SIP If You Die?

Many investors ask what happens to their SIP if they die. Do the instalments keep going? Can the nominee continue it?

The short answer: future SIP instalments stop, and the units already bought stay invested until they are claimed. The units are not lost. They are transferred to the nominee or legal heirs through a process called transmission. This post explains how it works and what your family can do to make it easier.

Future instalments and existing units are two different things

A SIP has two parts, and it helps to think about them separately.

1. The SIP instruction. This is the standing instruction that debits a fixed amount from your bank every month and buys units.
2. The units you already own. Every past instalment bought units, and those sit in your folio.

When an investor dies, the instruction needs to stop. The units, on the other hand, keep their value and keep moving with the market until someone claims them.

How does the SIP stop?

Under the industry process set out by AMFI at SEBI's direction, a nominee, joint holder or legal heir informs the fund house or registrar (CAMS or KFintech) of the death, usually by sharing the death certificate and the investor's PAN. Once that is verified, debit transactions such as SIPs are blocked on the deceased investor's folios.

The bank account linked to the SIP will also usually be frozen for debits once the bank is told about the death. That alone would stop the instalments from going through.

So families should inform both:

• The fund house or registrar, to start the process
• The bank, where the SIP was being debited from

If the SIP was set up through a platform or app, tell them too.

Can the nominee continue the SIP?

No, not in the same folio. A SIP is tied to the investor. After transmission, the units move into the nominee's own folio, in their own name. If the nominee wants to keep investing, they would start a fresh SIP of their own.

What happens to the existing units?

The units stay in the scheme. Their value changes with the market like any other investment. They are not automatically redeemed or paid out.

To get them, the claimant applies for transmission, which moves the units to their name. After that they can hold them or redeem them.

What does a nominee or claimant need to do?

At a high level, the steps are:

1. Inform the fund house or registrar about the death.
2. Fill the transmission request form for that fund house. AMFI has standardised forms across the industry.
3. Submit documents. These typically include the death certificate, the claimant's KYC and bank details, and proof of relationship or legal heir documents depending on the situation.
4. Receive units in their own folio.

What documents are needed depends on whether there is a nominee, whether the folio was joint, and the value of the holding. Where there is no nominee, legal heir documents such as a succession certificate or probate may be asked for, especially for larger amounts.

Why the exact process varies

Each fund house and registrar publishes its own checklist, and the requirements change with:

• Single holder with nominee: usually the simplest case.
• Joint holders: the surviving holder generally takes over.
• No nominee and no surviving joint holder: legal heirs claim, and more documents are needed.
• Value of the holding: higher amounts may need notarised or extra documents.

SEBI has also been making the process easier. In 2026 it asked the industry to accept updated addresses and self-certified ID documents in cases where the deceased's records have mismatches. Always use the current checklist from the fund house's website or registrar.

Where to find official claim forms

• The fund house's own website, usually under "Investor services" or "Transmission"
• The registrar's website, CAMS or KFintech
• AMFI's investor corner, which carries industry-wide information

Avoid anyone who offers to "speed up" a claim for a fee. The process is free.

Is the nominee the final owner?

Not necessarily. In India, a nominee may receive the units on behalf of the legal heirs. The Supreme Court made this clear for securities in December 2023 in Shakti Yezdani v. Jayanand Salgaonkar. If there is a will, it decides who finally inherits. If not, succession laws do.

This is why a will matters even if every folio has a nominee.

Keep good records now

The easiest claim is one where the family already knows what exists. Make a simple list of your folios: fund house, folio number, scheme name, and nominee. Keep it with your other important papers and tell someone where it is. Our post on making sure your family can find your investments has a one-hour plan for exactly this.

A checklist for families

• Inform the fund house or registrar of the death
• Inform the bank linked to the SIP
• Inform the investment platform, if any
• Get a list of all folios (a CAS helps)
• Download the current transmission form and checklist
• Gather the death certificate, KYC and bank proof
• Gather legal heir documents if there is no nominee
• Submit and keep copies of everything
• Note the date and reference number of each submission

Frequently Asked Questions

Does the SIP stop automatically when the investor dies?

Not by itself. It stops once the death is reported to the fund house or bank and verified. Until then, an instalment may still be attempted.

Can the nominee withdraw the money directly?

The nominee first applies for transmission so the units come into their name. After that they can redeem them.

What if there was no nominee on the SIP?

The legal heirs can still claim, but they will need more documents, such as a succession certificate or probate, depending on the amount and the fund house's rules.

Do SIP instalments paid after death get refunded?

If an instalment was processed after death, the fund house will typically deal with it as part of the claim. Report the death as early as you can to avoid this.

Do the units lose value while the claim is pending?

The units stay invested, so their value moves with the market during the process. They are not frozen at a fixed value.

If you want your family to have an easy time with this, start by checking your nominees with the free Family Health Check. Our team can also help with nominee updates and paperwork through a Kashly family account.