Who Is a Nominee?

A nominee is only a custodian of the deposit and his/ her responsibility is primarily to ensure that the legal heir of the depositor gets the money from a fixed deposit. S\he primarily becomes the operator of the account in the event of the demise of the depositor and does not actually own the money or have any legal right over the same.

Who Is a Legal Heir?

A legal heir, simply put, is a person defined by a will as the person who should receive the benefits of the deceased’s estates and, in this case, the money from the fixed deposit.

The Nominee Talk

If you have been following the financial news, you would have seen the word ‘nominee’ here and there. This is happening primarily because several commercial banks have identified inoperative, frozen or inactive accounts that have funds but not a nominee. Some of these are long-term fixed deposits that have matured with the promised interests, but are yet to be claimed by the accountholders or depositors. As there are no nominees for these accounts, the deposits are in a limbo, without having

The Act was amended by Banking Laws (Amendment) Act, 1983, by introducing new Sections 45ZA to 45ZF, which provide, inter alia, for the following matters: • To enable a banking company to make payment to the nominee of a deceased depositor, the amount standing to the credit of the depositor. • To enable a banking company to return the

articles left by a deceased person in its safe custody