EXECUTIVE MASTER IN ALTERNATIVE DISPUTE

RESOLUTION ( EMADR)
16TH SEPTEMBER 2017

EXTRACTS FROM TASTATE AND INTERSTATE S

SUUCCESSION LAW AND CONFLICT RESOLUTION
BY
ANTHONY ADDY
LAW –LIBRARIAN & LEGAL RESEARCH
CONSULTANT
 Intestate Succession Law 1985,

 Law before 14th June, 1985 - the OLD LAW.

 Law after 14th June, 1985 - (PNDC Law 111).

 PNDC Law 111 versus PNDC Law 112.

 When a person dies without making a Will, he is said to
have died INTESTATE.

 In 1985, the PNDC passed a law known as The Intestate

Succession Law 1985, (PNDC LAW 111). This law came
into force on 14th June, 1985.

As the memorandum to the law puts it "the law is aimed at

removing the anomalies in intestate succession and to
provide a uniform intestate succession law that will be
applicable throughout the country".

 To understand this current law, it is necessary to know the

state of the law before the promulgation of the Intestate
Succession Law.
 A clear understanding of the old law will help us to
appreciate why certain things were done and why
others were not done or if done, why done differently
from what we had anticipated or expected.

 The law was in a confused state and full of anomalies

and contradictions.

 Firstly, succession depended on the ethnic origin of

the person who died. Was he a Dagomba, an Akan,
an Ewe or a Ga? If Ga, was he from Gamashie where
succession is matrilineal or Osu, Labadi, Teshie or
Nungua where succession is patrilineal? Not all Akans
are matrilineal; the Lartehs, Mampong Akwapim and
the Guans are all patrilineal people.
 Then there are some individuals who are both
patrilineal and matrilineal because their father may be
an Ewe and their mother an Akan, e.g. the late Cato-
Larbi, a Barrister at Law, whose father was Lawyer
Obuadapang Larbi from Larteh and whose mother
was Miss Cato from Cape Coast, a Fanti, see In re
Larbi: Larbi v. Larbi [1977] 2GLR 506 CA.

 As a Larteh man, succession to his estate was

patrilineal, and as a Fanti, succession to his estate
was matrilineal.

 On the other hand the child of an Akan man and an

Ewe woman is neither Akan nor an Ewe hence
succession to his estate created a problem.
 Secondly, the law treated widows differently
depending on the type of marriage they contracted. If
she was married under Marriage Ordinance, Cap 127,
the widow was entitled to 2/9 of the late husband's
estate.

 If she married under customary law and the husband
came from a patrilineal society, the widow was
regarded as member of her husband's family.
Consequently, such a widow could live in her
husband's house i.e. the matrimonial home, until she
decides on her own to break the union and return to
her people. Where the widow had children with her
husband she often decided to stay and bring up her
children rather than take them away, which cause of
action her husband's family would resist
 If the widow's husband was a person from a
matrilineal society she was not regarded as a member
of her husband's family and she could stay in the
matrilineal home only subject to good behaviour.

 This was irrespective of the contribution and

assistance the widow might have given to the husband
in acquiring or amassing great wealth during the
subsistence of their marriage.

 The widow of an Akan man had no rights of

succession to the husband's estate and any help
and/or contribution the widow might have made were
regarded as having been made because of her
children, see Quartey v. Nartey [1959] GLR 377, see
also Ollennu,
 The Law of Testate and Intestate Succession in Ghana
(1966) on pp. 222 - 227. Our law reports are full of cases
where the customary successor or head of family of a
deceased husband threw out widows or attempted to throw
them out after their husband's death.

 One such instance is the case of Susan Darbah v.Nancy

Eddie-Ampah CA 7 /89 where the Court of Appeal
approved what His Lordship, Mr. Justice Hayfron- Benjamin
said in the case of:

 In re Ackon Mensah Deceased [1973] 2GLR18 at p.22

"The fertile field for the instigation of envy is among the
sisters, brothers, cousins and other relations of the
deceased husband, especially where they have been less
successful in life.

 These seem to regard the wife of the deceased as the

source of all their woes.
 If only the deceased had not contracted the marriage
under the Ordinance, he would have spent his money
on them, and their lot would probably have been better
than it turned out to be. In the lifetime of their relative,
they cannot vent their spleen on his wife.

 The opportunity comes when he dies. The poor widow

and her children are subjected to vulgar and
humiliating abuse; they are made to pay unreasonable
and unjustifiable funeral dues, to incur other liabilities
in respect of the funeral which can find no foundation
in customary law; and after the funeral are harassed
and driven to desperation by unnecessary litigation.

 Thirdly, the rights of children of a deceased person

were not the same. Their rights to succeed to the
parents depended on the type of marriage contracted
by their parents.
 If the parents were married under the Marriage Ordinance,
Cap 127, the children were entitled to 7/9 of the estate. If a
person was married under the Marriage Ordinance and had
a child outside wedlock such a child was regarded as
"illegitimate" and was not entitled to any share of 7 /9 of the
estate, so it was decided by the Court of Appeal in
Coleman v. Shang [1959] GLR 390CA which decision
followed a Nigerian case that was decided by the Privy
Council in London, Bambose v. Daniel (1952) 14 W.A.c.A.
116. A child was regarded "illegitimate" irrespective of the
fact that the father might have during his life-time
acknowledged paternity of the child and treated him equally
with his other children born in wedlock.

 And all that such a child was entitled to, if his father was
from a patrilineal society, was a share along with members
of the father's family in the 1/3 share the law gave to a
deceased person's family.
 .
 If the child's parents were married under customary law and the
deceased parent was

 (i) an Akan i.e. from a matrilineal ethnic society, a child could stay
in the parent's house subject to good behaviour and was entitled
to onIy maintenance and support, see Manu v. Kuma [1963]
1GLR464 CA., but had no right to inherit his father's property and

 (ii) in the case of a person from a patrilineal society, the child

could inherit the parent because succession is from father to
children. It may be mentioned that in certain patrilineal societies
women were not entitled to succeed so far as immovable
property was concerned because it was thought that on marriage
the property would go to her husband's family hence the interest
of women was only for life.

 Children have no hand in their being brought into the world and it
is most unfair that their rights of succession should depend on
the marriage of their parents. To punish children by disinheriting
them because of the indiscretion of their parents is a classic
example of the saying that:-
 If the child's parents were married under customary law and the
deceased parent was

 (i) an Akan i.e. from a matrilineal ethnic society, a child could stay
in the parent's house subject to good behaviour and was entitled
to onIy maintenance and support, see Manu v. Kuma [1963]
1GLR464 CA., but had no right to inherit his father's property and
(ii) in the case of a person from a patrilineal society, the child
could inherit the parent because succession is from father to
children. It may be mentioned that in certain patrilineal societies
women were not entitled to succeed so far as immovable
property was concerned because it was thought that on marriage
the property would go to her husband's family hence the interest
of women was only for life.

 Children have no hand in their being brought into the world and it
is most unfair that their rights of succession should depend on
the marriage of their parents. To punish children by disinheriting
them because of the indiscretion of their parents is a classic
example of the saying that:-

 "the fathers have eaten sour grapes and the children's teeth are
set on edge" (Ezekiel18 v. 2).
 Time was when in Victorian England an
"illegitimate child" i.e .child born out of lawful
wedlock, could not be commissioned in the army,
be a priest in holy orders, be a member of
Parliament, attend public grammar school, hold
certain civil appointments or be a member of
certain social clubs. Such a child bore the stigma
of "illegitimacy" for the rest of his or her life.

 Thank God the law and thinking in Elizabethan

England have since changed!

 In our customary law the concept of illegitimacy

does not exist. ill a matrilineal society a child
belongs to his mother's family irrespective of
whether he was born in or out of wedlock. ill a
patrilineal society a child born out of wedlock can
be regarded .as a member of his father's family
on acknowledgement of paternity by the father.
 Lastly, where people were married under the Marriage
Ordinance, Cap. 127, on the death of the husband the
widow was entitled to 2/9 and the children to 7/9 of the
estate but the reverse was not true because on the death
of a wife the husband was entitled to the whole estate to
the exclusion of the children, so said the Statute of .
Distribution 1670(22 & 23 Carr II c. 20).

 in view of the confused state of the law, coupled with the

attendant inequalities and hardships, it was necessary that
a law be enacted which will bring uniformity and equality of
treatment of dependants of deceased persons.

Another reason for this change is that since spouse and
children are the nucleus of the modern family it is fit and
proper that the bulk of the estate of a deceased person go
to the surviving spouse and children (and not the
customary successor or head of the family) "irrespective of
the ethnic origin of the intestate and the type of marriage
contracted by him or her".
 .
 Intestate Succession Law, 1985 (PNDC Law 111)
 The Intestate Succession Law, (PNDC Law 111) came
into force on 14th June, 1985 and applies to all those who
died after, that date without making a will. It has been
urged in certain quarters by muslim community that the
Holy Quoran lays down the distribution of a muslim' s
estate and no other distribution is permissible. The simple
answer is that a muslim who does not want his estate to
be distributed according to PNDC Law 111 should make a
will saying that his estate should be distributed according
to the Holy Quoran.

 PNDCLaw 111 applies also to the distribution of the estate

of those who died before 14th June 1985, if, according to
section 21, issue of the distribution of the estate was
pending before:
 i) a chief,

 ii) head of family,

 ill) court or any adjudicating body on 14th

June, 1985 when the law took effect.

 The law does not apply to family property or

accession to a stool, section 1 (2). It applies
only to "self acquired property" i.e. property
which a deceased person acquired from his
own resources or by his "sweat and, tears".
 If we may summarize; the law applies to
 i). the estate of those who died after 14th June, 1985
and those in respect of whose estate a suit was
pending before a chief, head of family, or court or any
adjudicating body at the time of coming into force of
the law,

 ii) when a person dies intestate i.e. without making a

will, and left

 iii) a self-acquired property of the intestate.

 If the above three conditions exist then the Law says

that the "household chattels" must go to the surviving
spouse and children and household chattels have
been defined by section 18 to include:-
 Jewellery, clothes, furniture, and furnishing, refrigerator,
television, radiogram, other electrical and electronic appliances,
kitchen and laundry equipment, simple agricultural equipment,
hunting equipment, books, motor vehicles other than vehicles
used wholly for commercial purposes and livestock".

 It may be pointed out that the word "spouse" means husband or

wife depending on the context. If Kofi Mensah died intestate the
wife is the "surviving spouse". If on the other hand his wife died
intestate then Kofi Mensah is the "surviving spouse".

 In addition to "household chattels", the Law gives to the surviving

spouse and children a house, if the deceased had one. If the
deceased had more than one house then the
surviving spouse and children must choose one of the houses. It
is not for the head of family or customary successor to decide for
the surviving spouse and children which house they must have.
If the surviving spouse and children are unable to make up their
minds they may apply to the Court for the decision to be made
for them.
 If one takes out the "household chattels" and
one house for the surviving spouse and the
children then what remains, that is the
residue of the estate, is to be shared as

 Follows;;

 Spouse ; 3\16 3\16 1\2 1\12 ---- ---- ----

 Children; 9\16 9\16 ---- ---- 3\4 3\4 -----
 Parent ; 2\16 ----- 1\4 ---- 1\8 ---- -----
 Family ; 2/16 1\4 1\4 1\2 1/8 1\4 1
 The chart is to be read from top to bottom or
downwards and where there is a dash (-) it
means the beneficiary does not exist either
because of death or divorce. Special provision is
made by section 12 in respect of small residuary
estates i.e. where the residue of the estate is less
than G¢5,000.00. Small residuary estates all go
to surviving spouse and children; in the absence
of both it goes to the surviving parents. Where a
person dies intestate leaving no spouse, child or
parent and is not subject to any customary law
the estate devolves to the Republic.

Perhaps this is the appropriate place to discuss or
answer questions which many people who do not
seem to like the law have asked.
 What happens if the wife after having her share
immediately remarries another man or the deceased
had no child with his wife?

 The law simply says where an intestate "is survived by

a spouse," section 3. The only requirement is that the
spouse must survive the intestate, the law does not
demand that a surviving spouse should remain
unmarried or must have children with the deceased
before being entitled to her share of the estate.
Perhaps these are very good reasons why a person
must make a will to provide against these
eventualities.

 Just as a surviving wife may immediately remarry

after the death of her husband so may a surviving
husband remarry another woman after the death of
his wife. Hence "what is sauce for the goose is sauce
for the gander".
 .
 Commorientes

 When a married couple die in circumstances in which

it is impossible to tell who died first it is provided by
section 15 that. the older is deemed to have died first

 If Kofi Mensah and his wife died in a road accident or

natural disaster and Kofi Mensah was aged 51 and his
wife was aged 46, then Kofi Mensah would be
deemed to have died first. This means that his wife
would inherit the husband by taking her share 0f 3/'6
which will be added to her own estate i.e. self acquired
property, to be shared amongst her children, parents,
if any, and her family.
 Child

 In order to do away with former distinction between child born

within and out of wedlock "child" is comprehensively defined to
include:-

 "a natural child, a person adopted under any enactment for the
time being in force or under customary law relating to adoption
and any person recognised by the person in question as a child
or recognised by law to be the child of that person".

 Hence children may be of the same mother or different mothers,

be born in or out of wedlock, or adopted under the Adoption Act
1962 (Act 104) or under customary law. Hence a child called in
Akan and Ga "ABANUMA" or in Ewe "ATIKOMEVI" is entitled to
succeed.

 This is a child already born before the marriage who a wife

brings with her to her new husband who accepts such child as
his and does for him all he does for his own children without
distinction.
 Criminal Offence

 Section 17 as amended by Intestate Succession

(Amendment) Law 1991 (PNDC Law 263) Section 2 gives
teeth to the new law by creating a criminal offence on the
part of any person who unlawfully deprives a beneficiary of
the use of
 :
 (i) "any part of the property of the entitled person, i.e. 'a
beneficiary'; or

 (ii) any property shared by the entitled person with the

deceased; or

 (iii) otherwise unlawfully interferes with the use by the

entitled person of any property" or

 (iv) unlawfully ejects a surviving spouse and children from

the matrimonial home".
 The offence carries a fine in the sum of ¢50,000.000 or
imprisonment not exceeding 6 months or to both.

 It is, therefore, an offence for a customary successor to

come from the deceased's village to lock up the
matrimonial home and take the keys away, or impound the
deceased's car. It is hoped that the police will rigidly
enforce the law to protect the surviving spouse and children
from belligerent and aggresive customary successors,
heads of family and family members of a deceased person.

 At times, some policemen in a charge office in a police

station tell a beneficiary being deprived of his entitlement or
interfered with in his or her interest that the complaint
is a civil case and therefore, has nothing to do with the
police. It is my submission that this view or attitude is
wrong.
 .
 Polygamous Wives

 By our Interpretation Act 1960, (CA 4) the "singular"

includes the "plural" and the "plural" includes the
"singular" therefore, where a husband had more than
one wife married under customary law these
customary wives are entitled to the surviving spouse's
statutory share 0f 3/16 plus a portion of the
"household chattels" and the one house.

 Those who want to take more than one wife should

note that section 14 provides that where two or more
persons are entitled to share a portion of an estate
they must "divide it among themselves in equal
shares".
 PNDC Law 112

 Both the memorandum to the Intestate Succession Law

and the Law itself make it clear that a surviving spouse is
to take as a "husband or wife", however married. In the
Customary Marriage and Divorce (Registration) Law 112
section 15- provides:-

 "the provisions of the Intestate Succession Law 1985

(PNDC Law Ill) shall apply to any spouse of a customary
marriage registered under the law".

 The question that arises is, does "no registration" mean "no
inheritance"? Or to put it simply, should a customary
marriage be registered before the couple can inherit under
PNDC Law Ill? Is registration a pre-requisite, a condition
precedent to inheritance which if not satisfied or fulfilled
takes away one's right of succession?
 This issue has now been clarified by Customary Marriage and
Divorce (Registration) ( Amendment) Law 1991 section 5 which
provides that if a Court or tribunal is satisfied by ORAL or
DOCUMENTARY evidence that a valid customary marriage had
been contracted then the surviving spouse is entitled to inherit
under PNDC LAW 111.

 In order to make proof of Customary Marriage easy, I would

advise that all customary marriages be registered.

 The registration involves an affidavit being sworn to by the heads

of both the husband's and wife's families to the effect that the
parties are married and that the necessary rites had been duly
performed.

 The affidavits are filed with the District Councilor with the
Metropolitan Authority, as the case may be, where the marriage
took place.

A fee is paid upon filing and a certificate of marriage is issued.
 '.
 Letters of Administration

 Where a person dies intestate a grant of letters of

administration is necessary to administer the estate of the
deceased person.

 The grant will be issue to a person or persons having a

beneficial interest in the estate in the following order of
priority if the deceased died either before 14th June, 1985
or the deceased was married under the Marriage
Ordinance, Cap 127:

 i) the surviving spouse;

 ii) the surviving children;

 iii) the surviving parents;

 iv) the customary successor.

 Where the deceased was not married and died
before 14th June, 1985, the order of priority is:

 i) the customary successor;

 ii) the surviving mother or father;

 iii) the surviving children.

 Where the two persons in the same category

apply, the court has the discretion as to whom the
grant should be made to.
 An application for grant of letters of administration is
made to the High Court or Circuit Court (depending
on the value of the estate) within whose jurisdiction
the deceased had his last place of abode and
application must be accompanied by:

 An affidavit sworn to by the applicants

administrators, stating:

 date of death;

 last place of abode of the deceased;

 whether deceased is survived by children

 that the applicant(s) come within the order of priority

 ;
 Any other necessary information;
 (ii) inventory of the estate and their value, sworn
to by the applicants, and

 (iii) death or burial certificate of the deceased,

Order 2 rule 2 (2) of LI. 1515.

 The applicants must appear personally in court

when the application is due to be heard. Judges
like to see the applicants in person. The other
reason or advantage of putting in personal
appearance is that in case of any query from the
judge the applicants are there to instruct their
lawyer, otherwise the application may have to be
adjourned.
 A citation will be issued by the Registrar and served
personally on the person cited i.e. "citee" by a bailiff of the
court. Where the citee cannot be personally served, an
application may be made to the court which may order
substituted service or service out of jurisdiction, as the
case may be. Within eight days of service, inclusive of the
day of service, or if the service is effected through an
advertisement, within the time stipulated in the
advertisement, the citee must enter appearance in the
Registry from which the citation was issued. If the citee
fails to enter appearance within the time stipulated the
grant may be made to the citor or the next person entitled
to the grant in order or priority. Citation may be issued for
the following purposes:

 to compel a personal representative to accept or refuse a

grant; and

 ii) to compel an executor to propound a testamentary

document which the citor thinks is invalid i.e. not complying
with the Wills Act 1971, (Act 360), i.e
 that the will was not duly executed, or

 that at the time of execution of the will the

testator was not of sound mind, memory
and understanding, or

 3; that the execution was obtained by fraud

or undue influence.

 In any of these cases the citation must be

followed by issue of writ of summons for
the validity to be determined by the Court.
 (b) Caveat

 A caveat is a document filed in court to prohibit the grant or

representation i.e. probate or letters of administration unless
prior notice is given to the caveator. In the case of
probate the grounds are that the testamentary document does
not comply with the Wills Act 1971 in which case the caveator is
asking that the will be proved in a "solemn form", In the case
ofletters of administration the caveator is saying that the
applicant is not the person who is by law entitled to a grant. It
may be pointed out that where a testator in his will purported to
dispose of property that did not belong to him or where
administrators included in an inventory property or properties that
did not belong to an intestate. caveat is not the proper remedy:
see In Re Gyan-Fosu Boafo v. Akwatia Pekah III [1974] IGLR
145atpp.147,CA.,lnReAgyepong [1973J IGLR326, at pp.330,
353/354, In Re Arthur [1972] 1 GLR 435 pp. 446,447 in Nkansah
v. Adjebeng [1961] GLR 465 at, p.468 Ollennu J, (as he then
was) said:

 "grant of probate is only conclusive of due execution of a will but

not as to the validity of the depositions made by the will, which
can be challenged in the appropriate court".
 The proper remedy is to issue writ of summons against the
executors or adminstrators, as the case may be, claiming
declaration of title.

 A caveat may be filed either before or after an application for

probate or letters of administration and remains in force for 3
(three) months and may be extended or renewed within the
last month before it expires. If the caveat is not renewed a
further caveat may be entered provided the grant has not
been sealed. A caveat entered may be withdrawn by the
caveator.

 When a caveat has been entered any person served with the
caveat may cause a warning to be issued to the caveator to
state and set out what interest he has in the
estate of the deceased. If this is done the applicant for the
grant must move the court on notice to the caveator, and in
the absence of an agreement between the applicant and the
caveator the court may order a writ of summons to issue, and
the matter becomes a "probate action".
 (a) Citation

 A citation is a document issued by the court

calling upon an executor or executrix to
propound the will, and it is issued at the
instance of a person who has an interest in
the estate and who is usually the person
entitled to a grant if the person cited
renounces probate.

 The application to the court must be

verified by an affidavit sworn to by the
person seeking the citation i.e. the "citor",
 (c) Administration pendente Lite

 Administration while legal proceedings are pending

touching the:

 (i) validity of a will of a testator

 (ii). recalling or

 (iii) revoking any grant

 may be granted to an administrator "limited for the

purpose only of collecting and getting in and receiving
the estate and doing such acts as may be necessary
for the preservation of the estate". An administrator
pendente lite has no powers of distributing the residue
of the estate,
 see section 80 of the Administration of Estate Act
1961, (Act 63). Application is made on affidavit to the
Court setting out the facts of the case and why the
grant is necessary. The grant is usually to a person on
whom the disputing parties agree or to a person
nominated by the Court.

 The grant remains in force until judgement is given in

the probate action.

 Application for the full grant may be made to the Court

after the judgement and a certified true copy of the
judgement must be exhibited with the affidavit in
support of the application. It may be pointed out that
the main aim of the grant of administration pendente
lite is to prevent loss and protect the estate, e.g.where
the estate comprises cocoa farms, a cattle ranch, or
fishing vessel or "one man business enterprise".
 (d) Revocation

 Revocation of a grant becomes necessary where:

 there is an error in the grant which is serious

enough to demand its revocation;

 (ii) grant was made during pendency of a valid

caveat subsisting at the time of the grant;

 (iii) the grantee had died before the date of issue

of the grant;

 (iv) the grant was obtained on false facts e.g.

grantee was not entitled to the grant or the will
was invalid, or a later will was discovered.
 Application for revocation is made on notice to
the personal representative verified by:

 an affidavit setting out the facts on which the

revocation is being sought, and accompanied by

 (ii) citation and

 (iii) recalling or a request that the original of the

grant be brought or produced and deposited in
the court where the application is made. When
the application comes before the court, if no
agreement is reached, the court will order a writ
of summons to issue and this is a second type of
"probate action".
 Samansiw

 The Wills Act 1971, (Act 360), section 19 sub-

section 3 expressly provides that: this Act shall
not affect the validity of oral testamentary
disposition made in accordance with
customary law".

 Before looking at the requirements of customary

law regarding an oral testamentary disposition,
we must dispose of an issue. Can an oral
testamentary disposition made in accordance
with customary law revoke a will, or a disposition
in a will if the gift made in the will is inconsistent
with that made by oral testamentary disposition?

 It may be argued that section 9 of the Wills Act

1971 stated the way and method of revocation of
will as,
 
(i) "tearing or physical destruction,

 (ii) written declaration of intention to revoke

 (iii) another will which is expressed to revoke the

previous will and that nowhere has samansiw been
mentioned.

 Section 10 recognises samansiw as a will or

testamentary disposition and it is submitted that if an
oral testamentary disposition complies with or is made
in accordance with customary law it may revoke a
previous will of a testator or a gift made in a will if it is
found incosistent with an oral testamentary
disposition, because sub-section 3 of section 9 says:
 by:

 "A will may be revoked by the execution of another will which is

expressed to revoke the previous will".
 Samansiw is "another will" if it is made after the execution of a will.

 That the concept of samansiw is known to our law is evidenced by the

fact that early text writers, see Sarbah- Fanti Customary Law, 2nd ed
pp.95-100, Rattary - Ashanti (1923) pp.238 & 39, Danquah -Akan Laws
& Customs p.198, Busia- The Position of the Chief in the Modem
Political System of Ashanti, p.127, all wrote about it.

 The first legal formulation of the esential ingredients of requirements of

the concept were stated by. , Ollennu J. (as he then was) in the case of
Summey. v. Yohuno [1960] GLR 68 and again in Akele v. Cofie [1961]
GLR 334 atp.337. In Mahama Hausa v.Baako . , Hausa [1972]
2GLR469, CA. the Court of Appeal in an obiter dictum expressed the
view (Bentsi-Enchill and Apaloo JJS C.) that the requirements of an
inheritable member of the family being present and the giving of
"aseda" were not necessary. In ReArmah (decd).Awotwi v. Abadoo
[1977] 2 GLR 375 at p.379, the CA (Full Bench), affirmed the decision
of the ordinary bench [1975] 1 GLR 374 where the essential
requirements were stated as follows:
 (i) the declaration should have been made
in contemplation of death e.g. a person
going for a major operation.

 ii) there should be credible and

disinterested witnesses present who can
testify that the dispositions were made in
their presence and their hearing, e.g. the
doctor and nurses on duty.

 iii) the disposition should relate to the self

acquired properties of the deceased

THE END