Chairman of the Executive Council of LAWA Ghana, Sheila Minkah-Premo
• Ghana now has a new Intestate Succession Bill
• Some changes have been made in this bill
• Among other exceptions are divorcees, baby mamas and side chicks do not benefit from the deceased’s property
With the new Intestate Succession Bill, baby mamas and side chicks are not entitled to the deceased’s property, Chairman of the Executive Council of LAWA Ghana, Sheila Minkah-Premo, has said.
She stressed that no provision has been made for mothers of children who were not married to their father.
However, the children of the deceased will have a share of the deceased’s property.
Speaking on JoyNews‘ ‘The Law’ programme on Sunday, she said, “The big question of whether the mothers of children who were not married to the fathers can benefit, unfortunately, in this current draft, no provision is made for it.”
“These two laws based on Article 22 have gone side by side. The Intestate Succession Bill and the Property Rights of Spouses Bill. In an earlier version of the Property Rights of Spouses Bill, an attempt was made to make provision for cohabitees who have lived for five years, but that was strongly objected to. So the last draft of the Property Rights of Spouses Bill, that has been totally taken off. The idea is that, they said, if you look at Article 22, it talks about spouses, it doesn’t talk about anything else,” she added.
“But in this case, the children will benefit. Remember, the definition of children is children, whether born within or outside a marriage. So, the children will benefit, but unfortunately, the ‘baby mama’ and ‘side chicks’ will not benefit,” Minkah-Premo noted.
She explained that, per the law, these category of women are not recognised as spouses of the deceased.
Under the new Intestate Succession Bill, properties of the deceased will now be shared in percentages and not ratios.
Also, a spouse who is separated from the deceased will have a share in the distribution of the property.
NB: Divorcees will not benefit from the distribution of the property of the deceased