Important: For general educational information only. This is not legal, tax or financial advice, and reading it does not create a professional-client relationship. Laws and procedures vary by jurisdiction and can change. Consult a qualified professional in each place relevant to you and your assets before making decisions.
Use the official Act to frame a conversation
Ghana’s Judicial Service publishes the Wills Act, 1971 (Act 360). The opened text identifies subjects including the power to make a will, execution, executors and witnesses, alterations, revocation, custody, provisions for dependants, insurance nominations, wills made outside Ghana and change of domicile. That contents list is useful for finding questions, not a conclusion about how a particular provision applies today.
The Act’s text includes rules about written wills and signing or acknowledgment in the presence of witnesses, and addresses additional steps for a blind or illiterate testator. Do not treat this brief description as a signing checklist: the exact statutory words, amendments, facts and later legal authorities matter. Take the proposed document to a qualified Ghanaian lawyer before signing or changing it.
Questions to bring to an adviser
- Which provision or issue—execution, witnesses, alteration, revocation or another topic—is relevant?
- Does the proposed will involve a person who is blind or illiterate or a document made outside Ghana?
- Has qualified local counsel checked the current Act and the actual document?
Separate a will from related family and asset arrangements
The official Act’s contents separately list provision for dependants and disposal of insurance money by nomination. Their appearance as distinct subjects is a reason to ask how a will fits with other documents and arrangements, rather than assume that one paper controls every asset or obligation. Keep insurance, account, property and existing estate records together for professional review.
Make a list of known assets, debts, family circumstances, existing wills and beneficiary nominations, showing which details are documented and which are only reported. The list helps counsel identify questions; it does not determine ownership, rights, validity or a person’s share.
Questions to bring to an adviser
- Are there insurance or other nominations separate from the will?
- Are any assets, documents or family circumstances outside Ghana?
- What current official source should counsel check for each separate issue?
Keep the jurisdiction and limits explicit
This article addresses only the Ghana Judicial Service’s published Wills Act and does not summarize the full succession or probate law of Ghana. The Act itself lists foreign wills and domicile as subjects, but the short guide does not decide any cross-border question. The source does not resolve how customary, family, religious, property or tax issues affect a particular person; disclose those circumstances to a qualified Ghanaian professional.
This is general information, not legal, tax, financial or estate-planning advice. It does not establish a valid will, decide who inherits or calculate any entitlement. It has not been reviewed by a lawyer or human editor; consult qualified local counsel and ask them to confirm the current law before signing, changing, or relying on estate documents.
Questions to bring to an adviser
- Which personal, customary, property or cross-border facts need to be checked locally?
- Does this question require current legislation or court decisions beyond the Wills Act text?
- Who can provide qualified Ghanaian advice on the actual documents and circumstances?
Official starting points
Check these sources for updates; their guidance may have changed since our last source check.
This guide cannot determine which rules apply to you. Speak with a qualified professional in each jurisdiction relevant to your family and assets.