Law, Culture and Women's Inheritance Rights in ... - Leitner Center

above, her husband's family delayed for more than a year before joining the application for the
letters of administration. [FN314] Such delays impose considerable hardship on widows whose
economic livelihood often depends upon property within the estate.
In other cases, the family may simply apply for letters of administration without the widow,
hoping to exclude her from the process altogether. In the cases of Beatrice Avorkliyah and
Bernice Segbawu, each family applied for a grant of letters of administration without the widow.
[FN315] In Ms. Avorkliyah's case, the eldest son from her husband's previous marriage filed for
letters of administration without her. Ms. Avorkliyah obtained legal assistance from the
SNV/WiLDAF Legal Awareness Programme in Ho and filed a caveat in the Circuit Court to
prevent the grant of letters of administration. Although Ms. Avorkliyah may yet be able preserve
her rights, the family's action has resulted in considerable delay. The case is still pending.
[FN316] In Ms. Segbawu's case, the family of her husband secretly attempted to obtain letters of
administration. Ms. Segbawu learned of their efforts, and WiLDAF filed a caveat on her behalf.
The High Court Justice hearing the case ruled that Ms. Segbawu should be included in the letters
along with two older sons. Since this ruling, however, the family has refused to proceed with the
administration of the estate. [FN317]
The family may also list inaccurately the property within the estate in order to maximize
family property. For example, Ms. Regina Papawu's husband died in 1999 following a nine year
illness.*325 [FN318] According to Ms. Papawu, his family did not care for him or even inquire
after him. Nevertheless, after he died, the family forced her to go through widowhood rites
overseen by the older brother of her husband. Another of his brothers took up the administration
of the estate. He prepared an application for a grant of letters of administration listing all of their
property and household chattels but excluding the house in which she had lived with her
husband. Ms. Papawu refused to sign the application unless the house was included. She later
received a copy of the letters of administration with her name deleted. She has sought help from
the WiLDAF and the case is still pending. [FN319]
Conclusions and Recommendations
In order to enforce their rights under Law 111, women must be able to obtain letters of
administration themselves or, at a minimum, be included as applicants for the grant of letters.
They must also be able to execute the letters of administration in a timely manner. Although it is
appropriate for courts to require, in the first instance, that all interested parties be included in the
application, no party should be allowed to interfere with or delay the process to the detriment of
others.
Recognizing the types of problems described above, some courts have authorized the widow
to proceed with the administration of the estate without the cooperation of the decedent's family.
[FN320] This approach, however, has been far from uniform.
In order to facilitate the protection of the rights of widows under Law 111, we recommend,
first, that the role of the customary successor be minimized to reflect more accurately the share
of the estate the lineage receives under Law 111, which is significantly smaller than the share
inherited by the widow and children of the intestate. [FN321] We further recommend that the
legislature*326 amend L.I. 1515 expressly to provide that if, after having been notified of the
application, any party fails to cooperate with the widow or children in applying for or executing
the letters of administration within a fixed period of time, the court should take appropriate
measures to expedite the process including excluding that party altogether.