# Make asset inventory so family finds investments after death 2026-09-23T09:01:33+00:00 | Governance | Indian Opinion Desk Corroboration: 1 independent outlet If you die unexpectedly, your family may struggle to locate investments spread across mutual funds, stocks, bank deposits, insurance policies and multiple financial apps. Experts recommend maintaining a consolidated asset inventory, ideally in an Excel sheet, covering bank accounts, demat accounts, mutual funds, insurance policies, fixed deposits and other holdings. The inventory should include account details, platform names and nominee information, and be kept updated and accessible to a trusted family member. Simply naming a nominee is not enough, said Minisha Rupani, Senior Vice President at Anand Rathi Wealth. A nominee is a custodian of assets, but investors should also have a registered will that specifies the beneficiary and ideally matches the nominee. A will is relevant for anyone above 18 with multiple assets or specific distribution wishes. The family should have access to the person's PAN, Aadhaar, registered mobile number and email address from day one. Without documentation, shares or mutual funds generally remain in the investor's name and may eventually be classified as unclaimed, subject to applicable rules. Depending on the asset type and period of inactivity, assets may be transferred to the Investor Education and Protection Fund (IEPF) or other mechanisms. A regularly updated asset inventory, clear nominee details and a will create a roadmap for the family to find and claim assets. ## Indian Opinion Analysis The core problem is that India's financial system has no single registry of a person's holdings. A demat account at one depository and a mutual fund folio at another are invisible to each other and to the family unless shared. The Securities and Exchange Board of India's KYC Registration Agency (KRA) and the central KYC registry hold identity data but not a consolidated asset list. The IEPF, which receives unclaimed dividends and shares after seven years of inactivity, held over Rs 5,800 crore as of March 2024, according to government data. Investors can track unclaimed assets through the IEPF portal using their PAN, but the process requires filing a claim with supporting documents. For a family with no knowledge of the holdings, the first step is still locating the accounts. ## Coverage - livemint.com Tags: Aadhaar, Anand Rathi Wealth, IEPF, Minisha Rupani, PAN, SEBI Canonical: https://indianopinion.org/make-asset-inventory-so-family-finds-investments-after-death/ License: Summary and commentary (c) Indian Opinion, reusable with attribution. Facts belong to the linked sources. Cite: https://indianopinion.org/make-asset-inventory-so-family-finds-investments-after-death/#story-in-brief