Mental Capacity and Wills in Ghana: When Can a Will Be Challenged

You've just learned that a relative's will leaves everything to one sibling and nothing to the rest of the family. You believe the will was made when your relative was no longer mentally competent — or that someone pressured them. Can the will be challenged? Here's how Ghana law approaches this.

What Makes a Will Valid in Ghana?

For a will to be valid under the Wills Act, 1971 (Act 360), it must meet these requirements:

• The testator (will-maker) must be at least 18 years old (or a soldier/sailor on active service)
• The will must be in writing
• Signed by the testator (or by someone else at their direction)
• Witnessed by at least 2 witnesses who are present at the same time
• Witnesses must sign in the presence of the testator
• The testator must have testamentary capacity at the time of making the will

What Is Testamentary Capacity?

Testamentary capacity means the testator must, at the time of making the will:

• Understand the nature of making a will and its effects
• Understand the extent of their property (what they own)
• Understand who their natural heirs are (spouse, children, family)
• Not be suffering from any disorder of the mind that poisons their affections, perverts their sense of right, or prevents the exercise of their natural faculties

A person can have dementia but still have lucid intervals during which a valid will can be made. The question is capacity at the time the will was made — not generally.

Grounds for Challenging a Will

1. Lack of Testamentary Capacity

The most common ground. To succeed, you must prove that at the exact time the will was executed, the testator lacked the mental capacity described above. Medical evidence is crucial — hospital records, psychiatric assessments, doctors' letters from around the time of the will.

2. Undue Influence

The testator was so dominated or coerced by another person that the will reflects that person's wishes, not the testator's free choice. This is difficult to prove — pressure and persuasion are not enough. The influence must amount to coercion that overborne the testator's own judgment.

Signs of undue influence: testator was isolated from family, will was made shortly before death when testator was vulnerable, will dramatically benefits one person who had close access.

3. Fraud or Forgery

The will was forged, or the testator was deceived into signing something they believed was a different document.

4. Improper Execution

The will was not signed by the testator, or the witnesses were not present at the same time, or only one witness signed.

How to Challenge a Will

1. Act quickly: File a caveat at the probate court before probate is granted — this stops the executor from acting until the dispute is resolved
2. Gather evidence: Medical records, witness statements from people who knew the testator, evidence of the relationship between beneficiary and testator
3. File a probate action: Contest the will in the High Court
4. Expert evidence: Medical expert to testify on mental capacity; handwriting expert if forgery is alleged

The Presumption of Validity

A will that appears to be properly executed is presumed valid until proven otherwise. The burden is on the challenger to prove invalidity — this is a high bar. Mere suspicion or family disagreement with the contents is not sufficient.

Use our free Estate Administration Guide. Read about writing a valid will and the probate process.