Abstract: | In 1985, the first statute of intestate succession applicable to every individual in Ghana was passed. Its foremost goal was to protect spouses and children from the claims of the extended family upon the death intestate of one of its members. This problem was more poignant in the matrilineal areas where by custom the spouse and children could not succeed to any part of a deceased's property, even property they helped to acquire. The present article first discusses the general problems that the law either creates or fails to address. It then considers the specific provisions of the law and looks at problems to which particular provisions give rise. The author concludes that the law places undue emphasis on 'children' at the expense of surviving spouses. Some problems may have been created because a number of assumptions on which the new law was based were incorrect. In addition, commonplace Ghanaian situations were not taken into account, such as the tendency of males to have extramarital relationships, the importance of the extended family beyond one's childhood, the different perception of marriage among the urban elite as opposed to the rest of the society, the extent of illiteracy, the total indifference to the law that the average person displays, and the dependency of parents. Notes, ref. |