What to Do After Your Husband's Death: A Widow's Checklist

Published by Karan Bindal, Founder

After your husband's death, the first practical steps are to get the death certificate, keep his phone number active, and tell the banks, while nothing else needs to be signed in a hurry. Then claim what is due to you one by one, such as pension, insurance and PF, and remember that you have rights of your own in his property and to the home you live in.

Please go slowly. Very little here must be done this week, and a trusted relative or friend can sit with you for each step.

In the first days

Death certificate. A hospital reports a death that happens there. For a death at home, the family reports it within 21 days, free of charge. Ask for several copies. See our death certificate guide.
Keep his mobile number active. Banks and other offices may send codes to it. Keep the plan paid for now.
Do not use his card, UPI or login to move money, even for household needs. Use the claim process.
Gather the papers into one bag or file. Passbooks, policies, the PPO if he was a pensioner, property papers, loan papers, PAN and Aadhaar.
Do not sign anything you have not read. That includes papers relatives bring you, especially anything that says release, relinquishment, no objection or disclaimer.

In the first few weeks

Your own money. Make sure you have a bank account in your own name, as pensions and claims are paid into it. A joint account with a survivor clause can continue with you, as the survivor.
Tell his banks. You can lodge a claim at any branch, against an acknowledgement. If you are the nominee or survivor, you need only the claim form, the death certificate and your identity document, whatever the amount. See our bank claim guide, or our guide for accounts with no nominee.
Tell his employer or pension office. If he worked, ask about pending salary, gratuity, PF and any insurance through work. Also ask whether a compassionate appointment scheme applies.
Life insurance. Tell every insurer in writing. See our insurance claim guide.
Bank-linked insurance. Look in his passbook for premiums under PMJJBY or PMSBY. Both have claim forms through the bank. The government forms say claims should preferably be filed within 30 days, so ask soon. Delay is no reason to give up on asking.
Loans and credit cards. Tell the lenders in writing, and do not agree to pay from your own money before you understand what you owe. See our home loan and credit card guide.

Your pension

If he was a central government employee or pensioner, you are first in line for family pension, and your own income does not affect it. See our family pension guide. State governments and other employers have their own rules, so ask his office.

If he was in private employment with PF, EPFO's death claim covers PF, EPS pension and EDLI insurance. See our PF claim guide.

If he had NPS, see our NPS guide.

Widow pension (vidhwa pension). This is a welfare pension, separate from all of the above. Under the central Indira Gandhi National Widow Pension Scheme, widows aged 40 to 79 from below poverty line families receive ₹300 a month as central assistance, and ₹500 from age 80, according to a government note of 2025. States implement the scheme and many add their own top-up, so the amount you receive can be higher. Many figures online disagree with these, so ask your district social welfare office, panchayat or municipal office what applies to you and how to apply.

National Family Benefit Scheme. The same note says a family below the poverty line receives ₹20,000 on the death of its main breadwinner, if he or she was aged 18 to 59. Ask at the same office.

Your rights

Your share in his property. If he left no will and you are Hindu, Buddhist, Jain or Sikh, you are a Class I heir along with his children and his mother. Other communities have their own rules, set out in our guide to property division. A nominee is not automatically the owner, so a paper naming someone else as nominee does not settle who inherits.

The home you live in. Under the Domestic Violence Act, a woman in a domestic relationship has a right to live in the shared household, whether or not she owns any part of it, and she cannot be evicted except by following the law. The Delhi High Court said in October 2026 that a husband's death does not by itself end a widowed daughter-in-law's right to reside in the matrimonial home that is her shared household. Each case turns on its facts, so if you are being pushed out, please get legal help quickly.

Maintenance from your in-laws, if you are Hindu. The Hindu Adoptions and Maintenance Act lets a widow seek maintenance from her father-in-law if she cannot support herself or get maintenance from her husband's or parents' estate, or from her children. It has limits, including what property he holds, and it ends on remarriage. Courts have read it in different ways, so ask a lawyer.

Your stridhan and your own things. Jewellery and other property that is yours stays yours. Under the Hindu Succession Act, property a Hindu woman possesses is held by her as full owner.

Free help is available

Free legal aid. A woman is entitled to free legal aid whatever her income, under the Legal Services Authorities Act. Call the National Legal Aid Helpline on 15100, or go to your District Legal Services Authority.
Women Helpline 181. This is a toll-free, 24-hour service for women seeking support, with referrals to police and legal help. The ministry's page says it runs in all states and union territories except West Bengal.

If you remarry

Under the central rules, family pension generally ends on remarriage, with an exception for a childless widow whose income is below a set level. Other schemes differ, so ask before you decide, and do not let anybody tell you what your rights are without showing you the rule.

When you are ready: your own papers

Later, update your own nominees, write down your accounts, and think about a will. Our free family checklist shows what to note down, and Aakhri Pal keeps these details and documents in one private place for your family.

See also: what to do after a death.

Last checked: 31 October 2026. Rules vary by state, community and employer, and welfare pension amounts include state top-ups we have not listed. This is general guidance, not legal advice. Please see a lawyer for your own case.

Sources: Domestic Violence Act, section 17 · Raj Kumar v. Attar Singh, Delhi High Court, 12 October 2026 · Hindu Adoptions and Maintenance Act, section 19 · Hindu Succession Act, 1956 · RBI Directions on deceased customers' claims · CCS (Pension) Rules, 2021, reproduced text · PMJJBY claim form · PMSBY claim form · NALSA FAQs · Women Helpline 181 · Government note on the National Social Assistance Programme, 2025