Inheritance Property Distribution in Ghana
There are two (2) main methods of inheritance property distribution in Ghana. Through a Last Will & Testament and in accordance with the intestate succession law, PNDCLaw 111.
You can purchase a copy of the PNDCLaw 111 here.
This post will only explain the distribution structure under PNDCLaw 111 and the persons who are entitled to inherit. Only the Spouse, Child, Parent and Extended Family have an automatic right to share in the estate of a deceased. All other persons will be required to prove their right to share in the estate.
Household Chattels
Household chattel refers to personal property within a house that is movable and not fixed to the property. This can include items like furniture, appliances, electronics, clothing, jewellery, and other personal belongings. Essentially, it’s the stuff you can take with you when you move houses, as opposed to fixtures like sinks or built-in cabinets that stay with the property.
The PNDCLaw provides that all the household chattel of the intestate automatically belong to the surviving spouse(s) and child(ren) absolutely.
A Single House
Where the deceased left only one house, then it belongs to the surviving spouse or child or both of them. This means where there is only one house left by the deceased, if there is a spouse and no child, then it belongs to the spouse. If there is a child and no spouse, then it is for the child and where there is both spouse and child, then it is for both of them.
Where the deceased left more than one house, then the spouse or child or both of them may choose one of the houses for themselves before the rest will be shared. If they cannot agree on which one of the houses to choose, then the Administrator can bring the dispute to the Court and the Court will make that choice for them.
After the single house has been selected by the spouse and/or child, the rest of the estate is described as the “Residue”.
Spouse and Children
Only the legally married wife or husband of the deceased will be recognized under PNDCL 111 as a Surviving Spouse. Divorcees, Girlfriends, Concubines, Side Chicks, Boy Toys etc., are all excluded.
The Law will recognize all the biological children of the deceased as Surviving Children. The Law will also recognize all the legally adopted children of the deceased as Surviving Children. Nephews, Nieces, Cousins etc. are all excluded unless they were legally adopted by the deceased.
The Surviving Spouse and Children of the deceased are jointly entitled to 75% of the properties (18.75% and 56.25% respectively). The remaining 25% goes to the Surviving Parents and Extended Family (12.5% and 12.5%).
Spouse Only
Where the deceased has no Children but dies leaving a Spouse(s), the Spouse will be entitled to 50% of the properties and the remaining 50% shared between the Parent and Extended Family (25% and 25% respectively).
Child Only
If the deceased is survived by a Child(ren) but no Surviving Spouse(s) then the Child(ren) is entitled to 75% of the properties and the remaining 25% goes to the Parents and Extended Family (12.5% and 12.5% respectively).
Parents Only
The biological parents of the deceased person are the Surviving Parents. However, the legal adoptive Parents of the deceased will also be recognized as Surviving Parents.
If the deceased person has no Spouse or Children, then the Surviving Parents, if any, will be entitled to 75% of the properties and the remaining 25% will go to the Extended Family.
Where There are No Surviving Parents
The distributions are in four parts, Spouse, Children, Parents and family.
The Spouse and Children form one block and the parents and family form another block.
The property always stays within the block, with the larger portion given to the children, then the spouse before the parents and the family.
So if there are no children for instance, you will notice the PNDCLaw 111 gives the spouse 50% and then the parents 25% and family 25%.
if there are no parents, the law will give that portion to the family so they get 25% instead of the original 12.5%.
No Surviving Relatives
If the deceased has no Spouse, Child, Parent or Extended Family member, then the properties will go to the government. The Administrator General of Ghana is the Public Officer designated to deal with such properties.
Grandchildren and Other Relatives
Grandchildren will only qualify if their parent (surviving child of the grandparent) predeceased the grandparent and the grandchildren were dependent on the grandparent during the grandparent’s lifetime. (i.e. Grandchildren were known by the deceased grandparent and if the deceased grandparent was taking care of them or maintaining them).
ILLUSTRATION – A: Kofi has a daughter Abena, and Abena has a son Kwame. Kofi is the grandparent, Abena is the parent and Kwame is the grandchild. Abena passed away in 1999, Kofi took care of Kwame from childhood until Kofi passed away intestate in 2005. Kwame will inherit Kofi. He will get the portion of the estate that would have gone to Abena if Abena were alive at the time that Kofi died.
ILLUSTRATION – B: Kofi has a daughter Abena, and Abena has a son Kwame. Kofi is the grandparent, Abena is the parent and Kwame is the grandchild. Kofi passed away intestate in 2005. Abena is alive and Kwame is also alive. Only Abena will get her portion as a surviving daughter of Kofi. Kwame will not qualify to inherit Kofi.
Other relatives who are not part of the qualified persons are not entitled to any share in the properties of the deceased.
Small Estates
PNDCLaw considers any estate where the total value of the residue is less than ₵10million (GHc1000). Small estates are given to the surviving spouse or child or both of them.
Criminal Offences Under PNDCLaw 111
The following criminal offences are punishable by fine, imprisonment or both.
Intermeddling
It is a criminal offence to handle or deal with the property of a deceased person without first obtaining Letters of Administration (where there is no Will) or Probate (where there is a Will).
It is also a criminal offence to interfere with the right of the spouse and/or children or any beneficiary to enjoy the benefits of the property that has been lawfully vested in them or granted to them by law.
Ejecting Spouse/Child From Matrimonial Home
It is a criminal offence to eject a surviving spouse and/or child from their matrimonial home in which they lived with the deceased during their lifetime. A few reasonable exceptions are allowed.
- If the home is rented then the Landlord may only eject them by obtaining a Court Order
- If the home is a family property then the family may only eject them after six months from the date of death of the deceased
- If the home is public housing/property then they may only be ejected after three months from the date of death of the deceased
Apart from these exceptions, no one has the right to eject a spouse and/or child from the matrimonial home before the distribution of the estate.
152 responses
My father passed on leaving us properties, the surviving spouse is our step mother. My father claim he gave birth with a lady… of which his condition at that time wasn’t good to impregnate a woman says the doctor….
More over after the woman gave birth shortly did my father die, the woman named the girl not after my dad’s name. And since our father told our uncles and us that he had a child with a woman we were expecting the girl bare our father’s name but that wasn’t the case. We had to force the woman for years before she agreed to change the name. With this can I conduct DNA test to confirm if the child was truly my dad’s…??
And if she’s not my dad’s child what can I do in this case?
The girl is 11years now and my dad passed away 10years 5months now
Please note that we cannot give you legal advice, we can only help you to understand what the law says about a given subject. If there is a Will, then every person who has been mentioned in the Will has the right to claim whatever they have been given in the Will. If there is no Will, then PNDCLaw 111 will be used to share the estate and only the biological or adopted children will have a right to share the portion that goes to the children under PNDCLaw 111. Again, if there is no Will, then only the lawfully appointed Administrator by the Court will have the right and authority to handle the estate. It is a criminal offence to handle the estate without first going to court for Letters of Administration. It is possible to apply to the court for a corpse to be exhumed and for paternity test to be conducted. However, there is a time limit because if the tissues of the corpse have decayed too much then the Paternity test will not be possible. A doctor who specializes in Pathology may be able to tell you whether after 10 years there is enough tissue left on the corpse for a DNA or paternity test.
My dad died not long ago he dad a multi million dollar company
I’m not the same field of the job but I’m still in school
What advise can you give me concerning the company ?
We cannot give legal advise on this platform. We can only educate. Where a person dies, if there’s a Will, there is a probate process that must be gone through. If there is no Will then PNDCLaw 111 will apply. It is a criminal offence to deal with the estate of a deceased without first obtaining Letters of Administration or Probate, punishable by fine imprisonment or both.
My wife and I got married and unfortunately she died with the pregnancy together with our unborn child. She acquired a plot of land and we started building on it before her demised. Her parents are both dead as well. My question is, do I automatically become the owner to the piece of land? We do not have any child together.
No automatic. If ther is no Will, then you may have to apply for letters of Administration at the appropriate court with the appropriate procedure and if it is granted, then the Administrator will have the right to vest the estate of the deceased into the beneficiaries in accordance with PNDCLaw 111.
please my grand father left a property for his eight children, the whereabouts of one is not known to date, one traveled and has since returned back to Ghana.However on her return she realized that the property have been shared among six siblings leaving her with nothing. All efforts to have her portion given to her has proved futile. please what will be your advise. The property is a land at a very prime area in the capital. Even though there was NO formal will, the father had all of the eight children sign on the indenture to partake in the sharing of the land on his demise. Please what is your advise.
We have responded by the email you provided.
Please does the family has the right to share property when there is no will and if no how will the law share five bed room plus two master bedroom and a hall plus another flat among a spouse six surviving children from different spouse and two from one spouse no surviving parents or brothers and sisters
only the legally appointed Administrator has the right to share estate of a deceased intestate. Note that it is a criminal offence for a person to handle or deal with the property of a deceased intestate without first obtaining L/A. This is punishable by fine imprisonment or both. After obtaining L/A, the Administrator will be required to share the estate in accordance with PNDCLaw 111. If there is only one house, then that house and the household chattel belongs to the wife and children. If there is only one private car, then the same. Anything left will be shared under PNDCLaw 111 as follows, Spouse-18.65% | Children-56.25% | Parent-12.5% | Family-12.5%. If they cannot agree, then the court will share it for them.
Please I want to ask a question. My day gave birth to six children in which 3 are from the same mother and the other 3 are from different mothers. My dad lived with my mother(mother of three) throughout until he met his untimely death. Along the line he left a five bedroom house and a storey building which the top contains 3 chamber and hall self contain and the down made as stores. Furthermore, one of my brother who’s the elderly one has taken us to legal aid commission and his reason is, my dad hasn’t gotten one year and my mom has given out the storey building to tenants and taken money meanwhile she hasn’t. She gave it out because it was uncompleted building and because there’s no money he intended to give it to anyone who can finish it so that as time goes on we deduct it from their rent. My elder brother said my mom and us have sold our daddy’s property and given out the rooms for rent. So please I want to know if my mom has right to decide or because my dad is dead my elder brother is the one who has the right to decide? Thank you.
We have replied to you via the email you provided.