DAVID LAMPTEY & ORS VS REBECCA KWATEKAI LAMPTEY
2016
HIGH COURT
GHANA
CORAM
- HER LADYSHIP BARBARA TETTEH-CHARWAY (J)
Areas of Law
- Evidence Law
- Probate and Succession
2016
HIGH COURT
GHANA
CORAM
AI Generated Summary
The Plaintiffs challenged the authenticity of the will purportedly made by the deceased, Joseph Odartey Lamptey, due to inconsistencies in the signature, the deceased's mental state, and blindness. Defendant applied for letters of administration and withdrew funds from the deceased’s account. The court found in favor of the Plaintiffs, ruling the will invalid due to insufficient evidence from Defendant, fraudulent applications for letters of administration, and Plaintiffs' credible evidence including a forensic signature analysis and medical reports confirming blindness.
The main issue in this suit related to the validity of a will purported to have been made by Joseph Odartey Lamptey, deceased. Briefly, the facts of this case are that Plaintiffs and Defendant are all offspring of the late Joseph Odartey Lamptey, hereafter referred to as the deceased, who died at his home in Akweteman, Accra, on 15th April 2012. A family meeting was held after the deceased’s death at which it was decided that the family head should take care of the properties of the deceased until letters of administration were obtained from the Court to administer his estate.
Subsequently, the parties were informed that the deceased had left behind a will. The said will was read at the High Court, Accra, on 26th June 2012, in the presence of the parties. Plaintiffs immediately raised red flags concerning the authenticity of the deceased’s signature on the will; Defendant, on the other hand, was quite satisfied with its contents as in her own words, she was given the lion’s share of the deceased’s estate.
On the blind side of Plaintiffs, Defendant applied for and obtained letters of administration with will annexed from the High Court on 15th October 2012. Armed with the said letters of administration, Defendant withdrew monies from the deceased’s bank account. On 13th April 2013, Plaintiffs issued a writ of summons out of the registry of this court for the following reliefs: 1) A declaration that the will purportedly executed by Joseph Odartey Lamptey (deceased) was not his deed; 2) An order to set aside the said will which is not completely dated as being invalid; 3) A declaration that the letters of administration with will annexed were fraudulently obtained at the High Court; and 4) An order to set aside or revoke the said letters of administration with will annexed as being invalid and void.
In the accompanying statement of claim, Plaintiffs claimed that the deceased did not author the will in dispute because he was mentally incapable of doing so at the time the will was purportedly executed. Plaintiffs further claimed that the deceased did not author the signature on the will because the said signature was inconsistent with the deceased’s known signatures on other documents he had signed. Further, Plaintiffs claimed that the deceased was declared completely blind in 2009 by the Ophthalmology Department of the 37 Military Hospital and therefore the will was invalid, as it had no jurat. Again, Plaintiffs claimed that the will that was read at the Hi