New Delhi, June 17 -- You are cleaning your house and find some documents suggesting your father had bought shares in a company. You think the shares must be worth a great amount, but you are clueless about how to proceed.

Notably, if dividends remain unclaimed for seven consecutive years, they, along with associated shares, go to the Investor Education and Protection Fund Authority (IEPFA), a government body appointed to help people recover their unclaimed shares and dividends.

The first step is to get an entitlement letter from the company whose shares you hold before you contact the IEPFA. This document details the number of shares and dividends that have been transferred to the IEPFA and acts as proof that those shares and dividends...