Clause three (3) of the Intestate Succession Law, 1985 indicates that "where the intestate is survived by a spouse or by a child or both a spouse and a child, the spouse or the child or both of them, is or are entitled absolutely to the household chattels of the intestate."

However, it has emerged that most spouses of the deceased, especially women, do not take advantage of the law. As a result, they end up being maltreated by the relatives of the deceased and in worst instances are kicked out of their homes by the family members.

In view of this, the Commission on Human Rights and Administrative Justice (CHRAJ) has admonished couples whose spouses die without a will to take advantage of the Intestate Succession Law and seek redress at the law courts.

Senior Principal Investigator at the Tema Regional Office of CHRAJ, Mr John Ato Breboh, who gave the advice,stressed that this will go a long way to prevent any abuse after the death of a spouse.

Mr Breboh, supported by Ms Isabella Ayaim, a CHRAJ Investigator, gave the advice when he spoke to the Ghana News Agency on the Interstate Succession Law.

He said the law had made provision for the sharing of the property of a deceased person, therefore the practice of families taking over the such property at the detriment of the spouse and children was illegal and punishable by law.

He urged aggrieved bereaved spouses and children to contact the CHRAJ offices in their districts for advice, adding: “It is unfortunate that most of such women have lost hope and trust in the system and, therefore, do not want to pursue such issues.”

“It is discriminatory that a woman can die and then the man can have all her properties without family interference, while when the man dies, no matter the class of the woman, she will have to suffer at the hands of family members,” he stated.

He said to cure such anomalies, the PNDC Law 111 of 1985, currently under review, put in place a mechanism to satisfy all relatives of the deceased, which gave a larger portion of the property to the spouse and children.

He explained that if the deceased was survived only by a spouse without children, he or she was entitled to 50 per cent of the property while the remaining 50 per cent would be shared equally by the family and parents.

The Interstate Succession Law, he stated also provided that if a person died intestate without a spouse, his or her children would take 12 portions out of the 16 equal parts and the remaining four portions shared with the parents and family.

“If one dies without children and spouse, the parents and family will take 50 per cent each of his or her properties, if they die without a family, spouse, parents or children, everything goes to the state,” he stated.

He advised family heads to desist from arbitrary sharing of properties of people without recourse to the law and the acquisition of a Letter of Administration from the court, saying that amounts to illegality.

Source: GNA