A portion of the estate is reserved to ensure that certain categories of persons are not excluded. The rules are difficult. The portions depend on the number of heirs and their existence. The minimum reserved portion for each person is 1/8 if a spouse, children and parents survive the deceased. The maximum share of each person is 1/4, if only parents without a spouse or children live on the deceased. items
After these categories are met, the tester shall be free to distribute, including beneficiaries, the residue of the estate as he/she wishes.
If the deceased failed to provide for a financial dependent in his will, that person may apply for provisions at the High Court.
Foreign wishes in Ghana are upheld
Ghanaian law usually upholds the will of an alien if the executive formalities are consistent with either Ghana law or the national laws of the nation where the will is made. If the will of a testator is proven under the law of a foreign jurisdiction, the Court would hesitate in Ghana to pronounce it invalid and would be hesitant to change or reject the wish of the testator.
The law applicable for the execution of a will depends on the testator's personal law, such as customary law; Mohammedan legislation if Muslim; common law; and other jurisdictions. Ghanaian law is the law applicable in the absence of any specific provision governing the transfer of property in Ghana.
In the case of a married couple with different religions and/or nationalities, each party's wishes shall be construed differently, according to the individual laws of the respective parties. The Courts Act of 1993 (Act 459) provides, in order to achieve a result that conforms to 'natural justice, equity and good conscience,' that the applicable legislation governing any issues arising between married couples is a matter of the respective rules of their individual systems of personal law.
In Ghana, it is normal to make a will.
A foreigner with property ruled by Ghanaian jurisdiction is advisable in Ghana to make a will. The advantage is that once the administration of the estate is proven and accepted, it can start immediately. On the other hand, a foreign will admitted to test within the jurisdiction in which it was made must also be proved and admitted to test in Ghana before it can be administered to the property to which it applies.
The physical presence of an external testator in Ghana must be written. In the presence of two or more witnesses who are present, the testator shall sign or acknowledge his signature. The Testament can also be signed on behalf of the testator in the presence of two or more witnesses. The testimony must also be certified and signed in the presence of the testator, but no legal form of certification is required.