Where to look for what someone left behind

There is no single list

We have not found an official place that lists everything a person owned. What exists are separate places, and each shows only a part: a bank's records, an insurer's, a fund house's, the tax department's, and the person's own papers and email. Finding what they left means visiting several of them, and knowing which to try first.

Three kinds of trail

1. Their own papers and email. Statements, passbooks, policy documents and emails from institutions. These cost nothing to check, and they often name an institution you did not know about. One example is the monthly mutual fund statement.
2. Official lookups. A few regulators run places where you can search or ask. UDGAM, run by the Reserve Bank, searches bank deposits that have gone unclaimed. Bima Bharosa, run by IRDAI, asks insurers about unclaimed money on a policy you know. IEPF handles shares and dividends that companies have passed on to the government. Each one is explained, step by step, on the Find assets page.
3. The tax trail. A legal heir can register on the income-tax portal for a deceased taxpayer. The tax department's statements gather what has been reported about a person, so they can point to institutions you had not thought of. See the tax statement that gathers it, AIS.

A sensible order

This is our suggestion, not an official rule. Start with what you already hold, their papers and their email, because it is free and quick. Then use the official lookups for the kinds of asset you suspect. Then turn to the tax trail if gaps remain. Registering on the tax portal needs documents and an approval, which its manual says is processed within 7 days, so it helps to start that early if you think you will need it.

What finding nothing means

Not finding something is not proof that it does not exist.

• UDGAM searches only the banks that are on it, and only deposits that have gone unclaimed.
• Bima Bharosa asks for a policy number, so it cannot find a policy you do not already know about.
• A monthly statement may not be sent in a month with no transactions.

Keep a note of what you checked and when, so you know what is left.

What we have not covered yet

We have not yet checked the official sources for provident fund and pension, lockers, property records, loans and credit reports, or digital accounts and crypto. We will add guides as we do.

This guide describes official pages as we read them on 1 October 2026. Portals change, so confirm on the portal before you act.