FREDERICK OWONA ODAME VS JANET ODAME & ORS
2024
HIGH COURT
GHANA
CORAM
- HER LADYSHIP JUSTICE SARAH ARYEE (MRS.), J.
Areas of Law
- Probate and Succession
- Civil Procedure
- Evidence Law
2024
HIGH COURT
GHANA
CORAM
AI Generated Summary
This case involves a dispute over the validity of multiple wills purportedly made by the late Daniel Kwaku Odame. The court examined three wills dated 2011, 2015, and 2016. After careful consideration of evidence and witness testimonies, the court found that only the 2011 will was valid and properly executed. The court declared the 2015 and 2016 wills invalid due to inconsistencies in testimony, suspicious circumstances surrounding their creation and deposit, and failure to meet legal requirements. The court held that the deceased did not die intestate and ordered the executors named in the 2011 will to apply for probate and distribute the estate accordingly. The case highlights the importance of proper will execution, the burden of proof in probate actions, and the court's role in assessing witness credibility and evidence consistency.
The onus is on the propounder of the Will to prove positively that the Will was duly executed, in that it complied with the requirements of sections 1 and 2 of the Wills Act.
1971 (Act 360). BACKGROUND OF THE CASE The plaintiff is one of the children of the late Daniel Kwaku Odame, who died on the 11th of December, 2016. He was 90 years old at the time of his death and was survived by a wife and sixteen children.
The 1st Defendant is the widow of the deceased.
The 2nd and 3rd Defendants are named Executors of the Wills of the deceased which Wills are the subject matter of this suit.
The deceased during his lifetime, acquired properties which included a house, numbered H/No. 147/15 Mataheko Accra, H/No. 28 Mpraeso Eastern Region, and a plot of land at Peikuma near Kasoa.
A search at the High Court revealed that three different Wills deposited at the Court's Registry in the name of the deceased.
The first Will is dated the 7th August 2011, the 2nd dated 21st July 2015 and the 3rd dated 19th April 2016. Probate is yet to be granted to the executors to administer the deceased’s estate.
Following the reading of the Will dated 19th April 2016, Plaintiff initiated this action against the Defendants by a Writ of Summons and Statement of Claim dated the 5th day of June 2018 seeking the following reliefs: a) A Declaration that the late Daniel Kwaku Odame died intestate.
b) A Declaration that the purported Will of the late Daniel Kwaku Odame is invalid since the same was not executed according to law.
c) A Declaration that the alleged Will being attributed to the late Daniel Kwaku Odame by the Defendants is not his original and final Will.
d) An order of perpetual injunction restraining the defendants, their children, agents, and other person(s) claiming title through them from interfering with the property in dispute e) Any other Order(s) that the Honourable Court may deem fit.
The 1st Defendant entered appearance and filed a Statement of Defence on the 28th day of June 2018, this was amended and an amended Statement of Defence was filed on the 9th June 2020. The defendants counterclaimed as follows: a. A Declaration that the late Mr. Daniel Kwaku Odame did not die intestate but the deceased left behind him a valid and properly-executed Will dated 21st July 2015. b. A further Declaration that the Will of the late Mr. Daniel Kwaku Odame dated 21st July 2015 has not been revoked in any way at law by the improperly executed Will dated 19th April 2016 which h