NII OFORI KWATCHEY & ORS VS ISAAC ARYEE ANKRAH & ORS

Justice Dennis Adjei adjudicated a dispute over the will of the late Beatrice Manu Kwatchey. The head of family, eldest son, and daughter sued to invalidate her 27 May 1997 will, revoke probate granted on 9 March 2006, and cancel vesting assent to the 3rd Defendant, the sole beneficiary. Plaintiffs alleged the will was forged and procured by undue influence, claiming the testatrix had been blind since 1995 and that SSNIT colleagues of the 3rd Defendant prepared and witnessed the will. After assessing the attesting witness, the pastor, and the drafting lawyer, the court found the testatrix was not blind in 1997 and noted a jurat confirming the will was read and explained in Ga to the illiterate testatrix before execution. Applying Evidence Act burdens, the court held Plaintiffs failed to prove forgery or undue influence and affirmed the will’s validity. Addressing Plot No. B833, Russia-Accra, the court found the 3rd Plaintiff built a storey building with her mother’s permission; under section 7(1) of the Wills Act, the will could not devise interests the testatrix did not hold at death. Relief 4 confirming the 3rd Plaintiff’s ownership was granted; all other Plaintiffs’ reliefs and the 3rd Defendant’s counterclaims largely failed.