How to Handle the Share Certificate of a Dead Relative

It is not surprising to see potential investors run away from the stock market on the simple ground that what becomes of their shares after their demise. The question usually asked is what will happen to my shares? Will it becomes the property of the stockbrokers?
The issue is more important in places where there are cultural peculiarities that see the writing of a will as a taboo. Two scenarios normally occur: when the deceased died without a valid will and when the deceased died with a valid will. The process of transferring the shares of the deceased to his relatives is called Transmission.
It is important that we look at the two scenarios to get a full understanding of the transmission process as it pertains to the relatives of the deceased in any of the two scenarios. The first is when the deceased died leaving behind a valid will that is written by a lawyer specifying how his estate (shares, property monies in bank e.t.c) will be shared among his or her beneficiary. In this situation, what the beneficiaries need to do is to take the valid will to a High Court’s Probate Registry for probate.
The Court will have to ascertain and satisfy itself that the document is not forged. It then grants probate after satisfactory examination of the document before it. The probate allows the instructions in the will to be carried out by the Executors. The will is normally accompanied by a death certificate which supplies further evidence that the shareholder is dead. The death certificate of the deceased provides strong and valid evidence to the Court and upon this, the Court will then grant probate for the will to take effect. The Executor(s) then proceed to execute the will as it is written by the deceased.
The second scenario is when the deceased died without a will. The relatives in this type of situation normally feel frustrated when this kind of incidence occurs. The share certificates of the deceased shareholder can still be transferred to the relatives irrespective of the time that has elapsed. The process can be tedious and long but if handled by a competent stockbroker from a good stock broking firm, the process can be less cumbersome. The following processes are normally taken when filling for the transmission of a dead shareholder's certificate without a valid will depending on the jurisprudence of the geographical location of the deceased:

Death Certificate: The deceased death certificate on procurement should be taken to a stockbroker. The reason for this is to ascertain that the deceased (shareholder) is truly dead. This will then be taken to the Registrar of the companies where the shareholder has holdings.

Letter of Administration: The Letter of Administration is the document to be obtained where the deceased died without a will. The purpose is to appoint administrators that will administer the estate of the deceased. The members of the deceased family should settle every conceivable difference between them before going to the Court. The process of obtaining the Letter of Administration is properly handled by a legal practitioner but should be properly guided by the stockbroker especially in areas that have to do with the deceased shareholding (shares).

Opening of an Estate Bank Account: Either of the two documents (i.e. Probate or Letter of Administration) whichever is applicable should be forwarded to any bank for the opening of an account for the deceased estate. It is better to have four administrators that will manage the account of the deceased estate than the two that is appointed by the Court. The account must be a current account. After the account has been opened, the bank will be instructed to issue copies of the banker’s confirmation of the signatures of the selected administrators which must be addressed to each of the Registrars of the companies where the deceases has holdings (shares)

Endorsement of the shares certificates: Approach your stockbroker after obtaining all the documents: death certificate, Letter of Administration or Probate, the Gazette and banker’s confirmation to start the endorsement process. Endorsement is the process whereby the shares certificates of the deceased will have, endorsed (written) on them, the names of the administrators of the deceased estate as contained in the Letter of Administration. The name of the deceased will become invalid once the names of the administrators are endorsed at the back of the share certificates. This is signed and stamped. The shares cannot be converted into its monetary equivalent or other assets by the beneficiaries of the deceased estate if the process is not completed.
This is the complete process for handling the shares certificates of a dead relative. When the process is followed step by step, it will be less strenuous to obtain the end result which is the transfer of the deceased share certificates to his beneficiaries.