Section 4—Property Devolving Under Customary Law. The interest of an intestate in any property, movable or immovable, of which by customary law he could have disposed by testamentary disposition shall be deemed to be his property. PART II—THE ADMINISTRATOR-GENERAL Section 5—Application. This Part applies to any estate in respect of which a grant of probate or letters of administration may be granted by the court. Appointment and Functions Section 6—Appointment and Incorporation of Administrator-General. (1) The President shall appoint a suitable person to be the Administrator-General for the purposes of this Act and as many assistant administrators-general as may be required. (2) The Administrator-General shall be a corporation sole by the name of the Administrator- General of the Republic of Ghana and shall have perpetual succession and an official seal and may sue and be sued in his corporate name, but any instrument sealed by him shall not by reason of his using a seal be rendered liable to a higher stamp duty than if he were an individual. (3) The Administrator-General shall be entitled to appear in court either in person or by counsel in any proceeding to which he is a party. Section 7—Liability of the Administrator-General. (1) Neither the Administrator-General nor any agent shall be personally liable to any person in respect of assets which are in the possession, at the time of his death, of any person whose estate is being administered by the Administrator-General, and are dealt with by the Administrator-General or agent, unless the Administrator-General or his agent, respectively, knows, or has actual notice, before the assets are dealt with that they were not in fact the property of the person whose estate is being administered by the Administrator-General, and generally neither the Administrator-General nor any agent shall be liable for any act done by him bona fide in the supposed and intended performance of his duties, unless it is shown that the act was done not only illegally but wilfully or with gross negligence. (2) Nothing in this section shall affect section 19 of this Act. Section 8—Liability of the Government. The revenue of the Republic shall be liable to make good all sums required to discharge any liability which the Administrator-General, if he were a private administrator, would be personally liable to discharge except when the liability is one to which neither the Administrator-General nor any of his agents has in any way contributed, or which neither he nor any of his agents could, by the exercise of reasonable diligence, have averted and in either of those cases the Administrator-General shall not, nor shall the revenue of the Republic, be subject to any liability. Section 9—Non Liability of Administrator-General and Government. When death is proved to the satisfaction of the Administrator-General:—
(a) by a certified copy of a register of deaths; or (b) by a certificate of a local authority in an area where there is no compulsory registration of deaths; or (c) by a certificate of, in the case of a public officer, the official head of the department in which he was employed, neither the Administrator-General personally nor the Government shall be liable for any loss incurred through a fraudulent or innocent misrepresentation concerning the death in question. Section 10—Sale of Goods of Third Party. If during the administration of an estate by the Administrator-General there is sold by the Administrator-General or any agent on his behalf any goods or chattels belonging to a third party, the amount realised by the sale shall be paid over to the owner upon proof by him of ownership unless the proceeds have already been applied in payment of the debts of the deceased or have been distributed in the ordinary course of administration whilst the Administrator-General or his agent was in ignorance or without actual notice of the claim of that person to the goods or chattels sold. Section 11—No Security or Oath Required from Administrator-General. (1) The Administrator-General shall not be required to verify otherwise than by his signature, any petition presented by him under the provisions of this Act, and if the facts stated in any such petition are not within the Administrator-General's own personal knowledge, the petition may be subscribed and verified by any person competent to make the verification. (2) The facts stated in the reports of administrative officers to the Administrator-General shall, for the purposes of this section, be deemed to be within the personal knowledge of the Administrator-General. (3) The Administrator-General shall not be required to enter into any administration bond, or to give other security to the court on the grant of any letters of administration to him by that name. Section 12—Administrator-General may be Appointed Executor. The Administrator-General may be appointed the executor of any will. Section 13—Grants to be made to Administrator-General by that Name. All probates and letters of administration granted to the Administrator-General shall be granted to him by that name, and shall be deemed to include his successors in office and shall authorise the Administrator-General to act as executor or administrator, as the case may be, of the estate to which such probate or letters relate. Section 14—Effect of Grant to Administrator-General. Probate or letters of administration granted by the court to the Administrator-General shall be conclusive as to his representative title against all debtors of the deceased and all persons holding assets, and shall afford full indemnity to all debtors paying their debts, and all persons
the court may, upon the application of the Administrator-General or any person interested in the assets or in the due administration thereof, direct the Administrator-General to collect and take possession of the assets and to hold, posses, realise, and dispose of them according to the direction of the court, and in default of any such directions, to the provisions of this Act so far as applicable to the assets. (2) Any order of the court made under this section shall entitle the Administrator-General— (a) to maintain any suit or proceedings for the recovery of the assets; and (b) if he thinks fit to apply for a grant of probate or of letters of administration of the estate of the deceased; and (c) Subject to section 54 of this Act, to retain out of the assets of the estate any fees chargeable under rules made under this Act and to reimburse himself for all payment made by him in respect of the assets which a private administrator might lawfully have made. [As Substituted by Administration of Estates (Amendment) Law, 1985 (PNDCL 113) s. 1]. Section 20—Grant to Persons Appearing. If in the course of proceedings to obtain a grant of probate or of letters of administration under section 16, section 18 or section 19 of this Act any person appears and establishes his claim— (a) to probate of the will of the deceased; or (b) to letters of administration as next-of-kin of the deceased, and gives such security as may be required of him by law, the court may grant probate of the will or letters of administration accordingly, and shall award the Administrator-General the costs of any proceedings taken by him, under those sections, to be paid out of the estate as part of the testamentary or intestate expenses thereof. Section 21—Grant to Administrator-General. If in the course of the proceedings to obtain a grant of probate or of letters of administration under section 16, section 18 or section 19 of this Act, no person establishes his claim to probate of a will, or to a grant of letters of administration as next-of-kin of the deceased within such period as to the court seems reasonable, or if a person who has established his claim to a grant of letters of administration as next-of-kin of the deceased fails to give such security as may be required of him by law, the court may grant probate or letters of administration to the Administrator-General. Section 22—Transfer by Private Executor or Administrator to Administrator-General. (1) Any private executor or administrator may, with the previous consent of the Administrator- General by instrument in writing under his hand, notified in the Gazette, transfer the assets of the estate vested in him by virtue of the probate or letters to the Administrator-General by that name. (2) As from the date of transfer, the transferor shall be exempt from all liability as executor or administrator, as the case may be, except in respect of acts or omissions done, or committed, before the date of transfer, and the Administrator-General shall have the same rights and be
subject to the same liabilities as if probate or letters of administration, as the case may be, had been granted to him by that name at the date of transfer. Revocation of Grant of Probate or Letters of Administration Section 23—Revocation of Grant to Administrator-General. (1) If an executor or next-of-kin of the deceased who has not been personally served with a citation or who has not had actual notice thereof in time to appear pursuant thereto, establishes to the satisfaction of the court a claim to probate of a will or to letters of administration in preference to the Administrator-General, any probate or letters of administration granted to the Administrator-General may be revoked, and probate or letters of administration may be granted to the executor or next-of-kin, as the case may be. (2) Probate or letters of administration granted to the Administrator-General shall not be revoked under this section upon the application of the next-of-kin of the deceased, unless the application be made within six months after the grant to the Administrator-General and the court is satisfied that there has been no unreasonable delay in making the application or in transmitting the authority under which the application is made. Section 24—Costs of Administrator-General on Revocation to Grant. (1) If any grant of probate or letters of administration to the Administrator-General is revoked, the court may order the costs of obtaining the letters of administration and the whole or any part of the fees which would otherwise have been payable under this Act together with the costs of the Administrator-General in any proceedings taken to obtain revocation, to be paid to or retained by the Administrator-General out of the estate. (2) This section shall not affect section 19 (2) (c) of this Act. Section 25—On Revocation Previous Acts of Administrator-General Deemed Valid. (1) If any grant of probate or letters of administration to the Administrator-General is revoked, it shall so far as regards the Administrator-General and all persons acting under his authority in pursuance thereof, be deemed to have been valid, except as to any act done by the Administrator-General, or any such person, after notice of a will or of any other fact which would render the probate or letters void. (2) No notice of a will or of any other fact which would render any grant void shall affect the Administrator-General or any person acting under his authority in pursuance of the grant unless within the period of one month from the time of giving the notice proceedings are commenced to prove the will or to cause the letters to be revoked and the proceedings are prosecuted without unreasonable delay. Section 26—Payments made by Administrator-General Prior to Revocation of Grant. If any grant of probate or letters of administration to the Administrator-General is revoked upon the grant of probate of a will or upon the grant of letters of administration with copy of the will annexed, all payments made or acts done by or under the authority of the Administrator- General in pursuance of the grant to him prior to revocation, which would have been valid if the grant had not been revoked shall be deemed valid notwithstanding revocation.
Section 30—Barring of Claims. (1) When the Administrator-General has given the prescribed notice for creditors and others to send in their claims against the estate of the deceased, he shall, at the expiration of the time therein named for sending in claims, be at liberty to distribute the assets or any part thereof in discharge of such lawful claims as he has notice of. (2) He shall not be liable, for the assets so distributed, to any person of whose claim he had not notice at the time of the distribution. (3) No notice of any claim which has been sent in and has been rejected, or disallowed in part by the Administrator-General shall affect him unless proceedings to enforce the claim are commenced within two months after notice of rejection or disallowance of the claim has been given and unless proceedings are prosecuted without unreasonable delay. (4) This section shall not prejudice the right of any creditor or other claimant to follow the assets or any part thereof in the hands of the persons who may have received them. (5) In computing the period of limitation, if any, for any suit, appeal or application under the provisions of any law for the time being in force, the period between the date of submission of the claim of a creditor to the Administrator-General and the date of the final decision of the Administrator-General on the claim shall be excluded. Section 31—Costs in Suit Against Administrator–General. (1) If any suit is brought by a creditor against the Administrator-General, the creditor shall be liable to pay the costs of the suit unless he proves that not less than one month previous to the institution of the suit he had applied in writing to the Administrator-General stating the amount and other particulars of his claim, and had given such evidence in support thereof as, in the circumstances of the case, the Administrator-General was reasonably entitled to require. (2) If the suit is decreed in favour of the creditor, he shall, nevertheless, unless he is a secured creditor, be only entitled to payment out of the assets of the deceased equally and rateably with the other creditors. Section 32—Disposal of Jewellery, etc. Section 33—Power of Administrator-General to Pay for Improvements. The Administrator-General may, in addition to and not in derogation of any other powers of expenditure lawfully exercisable by him, incur expenditure:— (a) on such acts as may be necessary for the proper care and management of any property belonging to any estate in his charge; and (b) with the sanction of the court on such improvements as may be reasonable and proper in the case of such property. Section 34—Power to Apply to Court for Directions or Information. (1) The court, on the application of the Administrator-General or of any person interested in the assets of an estate or in the due administration thereof, may give to the Administrator-
General directions as to any estate in his charge or in regard to the administration of any such estate. (2) Where any property of a deceased person devolves in accordance with customary law the Administrator-General may apply to a court of competent jurisdiction for information as to how that property should be distributed and the property distributed in accordance with such information shall, so far as concerns the liability of the Administrator-General or the Government, be deemed to be well administered. Section 35—Administrator-General to keep Accounts. (1) The Administrator-General shall make a complete inventory of every estate which he administers and shall keep an account of all receipts, payments and dealings with the estate; he shall retain all letters received, and copies of all letters written by him, and all deeds, writings, and papers of or relating to the estate. (2) The Administrator-General may destroy any private papers, bills, receipts, memoranda and other similar documents of no value, which he has received along with the estate and which are not claimed by the beneficiaries, or other persons entitled thereto. Section 36—Right of Interested Person to Inspect Accounts Etc. Any creditor or beneficiary of an estate which is in the charge of the Administrator-General shall upon payment of the prescribed fee and subject to such conditions and restrictions as may be prescribed, be entitled at all reasonable times to inspect the accounts relating to the estate and the reports and certificates of the auditor, and on payment of the prescribed fee, to copies thereof and extracts therefrom. Section 37—Payment of Money into the Prescribed Bank and Investment of Surplus Funds. (1) An Administrator-General's account shall be kept by the Administrator-General with such bank as may be prescribed, and all moneys received by the Administrator-General in respect of proceedings under this Act shall be paid into that account. Whenever the cash balance standing to the credit of the Administrator-General's account is in excess of the amount which in the opinion of the Administrator-General is required for the time being to answer demands in respect of the estate being administered by him, the Administrator- General may deposit the cash balance or any part thereof with the Accountant-General or in a Government savings bank or invest the whole or any part thereof in any funds or securities in which trustees are by the law for the time being in force authorised to invest trust funds. (2) Whenever any money so placed on deposit or invested is, in the opinion of the Administrator-General, required to answer any demands in respect of estates administered by him, the Administrator-General shall thereupon withdraw the money deposited or realise the investment, as the case may be, and place the amount received to the credit of the cash balance of the Administrator-General's account. (3) When the realised assets of an estate are so small in value that the estate is practically indivisible amongst the beneficiaries or creditors entitled thereto or when after division of the estate a balance remains which by reason of the number of the beneficiaries or creditors and the small amount of the balance is practically indivisible amongst the beneficiaries or creditors,
(b) he shall pay to the credit of the Consolidated Fund out of the gross amount of moneys arising from the realisation of the estate such percentage thereof as may be prescribed; (c) he shall pay the creditors of the estate in the order and manner provided by law; and (d) he shall pay or distribute the balance (if any) which remains after such payments aforesaid to the persons legally entitled thereto, if known or, if unknown, to the Accountant-General in trust for the persons entitled thereto, in accordance with section 45 of this Act. Section 43—Disposal of Immovable Property. When after winding up an estate any immovable property remains undisposed of, the Administrator-General shall forthwith, and before closing the accounts of the estate, apply to the court for directions as to the disposal of the immovable property, and the court may order it to be sold, or may appoint a receiver or make such other order as the court thinks fit. Section 44—Assets of persons not Domiciled in Ghana Payable to Executor Abroad. (1) When a person, not having his domicile in Ghana, has died leaving assets in Ghana, the Administrator-General, after having given the prescribed notice for creditors and others to send in to him their claims against the estate of the deceased, and after having discharged at the expiration of the time therein named such lawful claims as he may have notice of, may, instead of distributing any surplus or residue of the deceased's assets to persons residing in another country who are entitled thereto, transfer, with the consent of the executor or administrator, if any, as the case may be, in the country of the domicile of the deceased, the surplus or residue to that executor or administrator for distribution to those persons; or to a consular officer of that country or other authority competent to receive it, whose receipt shall be a full and complete discharge to the Administrator-General. (2) The Administrator-General may transfer the residue through the Accountant-General in any such case and a written acknowledgement by the Accountant-General that he has received the surplus for such a purpose shall be a full and complete discharge to the Administrator-General. (3) The Minister may prescribe the fees payable to a consular officer or authority mentioned in this section. Section 45—Disposal of Proceeds of Intestate Estates. (1) When the Administrator-General has completed the administration of the estate of any person who has died intestate and without known next-of-kin by paying all debts, fees, expenses and liabilities incident to the collection, management and administration of the estate and, after the passing of the accounts of the estate by the taxing officer or a judge, any sum of money remains to the credit of the estate in the hands of the Accountant-General, the Administrator-General shall inform the Attorney-General who shall forthwith publish a notice in the Gazette, announcing the completion of the administration of the estate and the passing of the accounts and the amount of the residue of the estate remaining and calling upon all persons claiming to be interested in such estate on legal, equitable or moral grounds to present their petitions to the court. (2) A petition may be presented at any time within two years from the date of the notice, unless the court, under subsection (3) of this section, fixes a lesser period within which the petition may be presented, and no claim shall be entertained after the expiration of two years or such
lesser period of time as may be fixed by the court, and the hearing of the petition shall not take place until two months have elapsed after the expiration of the period of two years or lesser period and until the petitioner has given two months' notice in the Gazette of the presentation of the petition or intention to present it, and if the petition has been presented and no such notice given, until after the day appointed by the court. (3) (a) Where the court is satisfied upon application, either by the Attorney-General or by a person who has presented a petition as provided for in subsection (1) of this section, that it is unlikely that there will be any further petitions presented or that a lesser period of time will be sufficient for the presentation of petitions, the court may order that instead of the period of two years mentioned in subsection (2) there shall be substituted for that period such lesser period, not being less than six months, as the court may consider sufficient. (b) Notice of any order made by the court under this subsection shall be published in the Gazette. (4) Every petition shall state the place of residence of the claimant and the grounds upon which, and the description of the estate in respect of which, the claim is made. (5) A copy of the petition shall be served upon the Attorney-General. (6) Any person claiming to be interested in the estate may appear personally or by a legal practitioner, and the respective claims of different petitioners may be heard and dealt with at the hearing. (7) The equitable or moral claims in this section referred to shall include those of dependants, whether kindred or not, of the deceased or other persons for whom the deceased might reasonably have been expected to make provision. Section 46—Order on Petition. (1) If any petitioner verifies his claim by evidence to the satisfaction of the court, the court shall make such order in the matter, including any award of costs, as it thinks fit. (2) The order may contain a direction to the Accountant-General to pay from the sum standing to the credit of the estate in his hands the sum awarded to any claimant or petitioner by the order or any debt appearing to the court to be then outstanding and due from the estate. Section 47—Rival Claims to Residue. Where two or more persons lay claim to any estate or residue, the Administrator-General may pay into court and notify the claimants and the court may with the consent of the parties, dispose of their claims by determining them in a summary manner, and may make such order therein with regard to costs and all other matters as the circumstances may require. Where the parties do not consent, they may proceed to obtain a decision of their claims according to the ordinary course of law. Section 48—Assets Unclaimed for Five Years to be Transferred to Consolidated Fund. (1) All assets deposited by the Administrator-General with the Accountant-General in accordance with section 42, or paid into court in accordance with section 47, of this Act, which have remained with the Accountant-General or court for a period of five years or upwards,
(1) Subject to the provisions of the Intestate Succession Law, 1985 (PNDCL 111), whenever any person dies intestate leaving property or assets in Ghana, the gross value of which does not exceed fifty thousand cedis the Administrator-General may by notice in the Gazette (which may be combined with a notice to creditors and others) advertise his intention to administer the estate and at the expiration of the time limited by the notice he may apply to the Court for leave to administer the estate. (2) The Administrator-General shall not under the power conferred by this section undertake the administration of an estate if there has been any previous appointment of an administrator under any other provision relating to small estates, or if there has been any previous grant of probate of the will of the deceased or of letters of administration of his estate, unless and until that appointment or grant has been revoked. (3) It shall not be obligatory on the Administrator-General to file in Court his accounts or vouchers in respect of an estate administered under this section unless he is required to do so by a beneficiary or creditor of the administration, and receives payment of such sum as the Administrator-General may reasonably require to cover the costs of preparing, filing and passing the accounts. (4) The Administrator-General shall give notice in the prescribed manner to all persons interested that he has completed the administration of the estate. A beneficiary or creditor must call on the Administrator-General to file an account under subsection (3) of this section within one month of the notice being given. (5) The Administrator-General shall have full power to settle finally and without appeal all disputes and questions which may arise in the course of an administration by him under this section, including claims by creditors, but may allow an appeal to the Court or may himself apply to the Court for directions. (6) In settling disputes or questions, the Administrator-General may, if he thinks it expedient in the interests of justice or with a view to saving expense, act on information which appears to him to be credible though it is not legal evidence. [As Substituted by Administration of Estates (Amendment) Law, 1985 (PNDCL 113) s. 4]. Section 54—Power to Remit Fees in Estates not Exceeding £G100. (1) Where an estate is administered by the Administrator-General under section 53 of this Act the Administrator-General may remit all fees and costs usually payable upon an administration by the Administrator-General, and substitute there for a fee calculated in accordance with rules made under section 56 of this Act. (2) In calculating the amount of the fee payable a fraction of a shilling shall be taken as a shilling. Miscellaneous Section 55—Power to make Rules. (1) The Minister by legislative instrument may make rules for carrying into effect the objects of this Part and for regulating the proceedings of the Administrator-General. (2) In particular and without prejudice to the generality of the foregoing power the rules may—
(a) provide for the accounts to be kept by the Administrator-General; (b) provide for the notices to be given by the Administrator-General and the method of service; (c) prescribe forms, scales of fees and any matter in this Act directed to be prescribed; (d) define the powers and liabilities of agents, provide for the appointment of such persons as may be thought advisable to be agents, fix the amount of security to be given by agents and the remuneration to be allowed to them, whether by way of fees or salary, and generally regulate their duties. Section 56—Power to Administrator-General to Appoint Agents. (1) The Administrator-General may appoint such person or persons, as he thinks fit, to act as his agent or agents for the preservation of the assets under section 19 of this Act or in the managing, collection, and getting in of the assets and in payment of the liabilities and the distribution of the assets of a deceased person whose estate is in the course of administration by him. The agent or agents shall in all respects act under the direction of the Administrator- General, who shall not be answerable for any act or omission of any agent not in conformity with his direction, or which would not have happened by the Administrator-General's own fault or neglect. (2) Every agent shall find security, to the satisfaction of the Administrator-General, for the performance of his duty. (3) Agents may be remunerated either by salary or such fees as the Administrator-General with the approval of the Minister may decide. Section 57—Power to Administer Oath. The Administrator-General may administer oaths, and whenever he desires, for the purposes of this Act, to satisfy himself regarding any question-of-fact, examine upon oath any person who is willing to be so examined by him regarding the question. Section 58—False Evidence. Whoever in any matter affecting the administration of an estate makes upon oath a statement which is false, and which he either knows or believes to be false or does not believe to be true, shall be deemed to have intentionally given false evidence in a judicial proceeding. Section 59—Agent may Take Charge of Assets. In the case of deceased persons, having assets in Ghana, the agent of the Administrator-General of the area in which the assets are situated may, when he thinks it advisable for the protection of the estate, take possession thereof, and in such case he shall forthwith report his action to the Administrator-General, who shall give such directions and take such proceedings in the matter as he thinks fit. Section 60—Annual Report of Administrator-General. The Administrator-General shall furnish to the Minister responsible for Finance as early as possible in each year, a statement showing the amount of money received, paid and expended in each case, of the estates being administered by him during the previous year.
