Administration of Estates Assignment Final 1

ADMINISTRATION OF ESTATES
WHO IS AN ADMINISTRATOR?
Section 108 of the Administration of Estates Act, 1961 (Act 63), the
Interpretation part, defines "personal representative" as follows;
: "personal representative" means the executor, original or by

representation, or administrator for the time being of a deceased person;
Section 108 of the Administration of Estates Act, 1961 (Act 63) defines
"administrator” as a person to whom administration is granted;
To help clarify the matter further, the section goes on to define

"administration" as follows:
"Administration" means, with reference to the movable and immovable

property of a deceased person, letters of administration, whether general
or limited, or with the will annexed or otherwise
Administrator is a person to whom the court has granted letters of

administration for the purpose of distributing the estate of the deceased
accordingly.
WHAT ARE THE RIGHTS OF AN ADMINISTRATOR?
AZU CRABBE, in his book “LAW OF WILLS IN GHANA” explains

some of the rights of personal representatives of a deceased person’s
estate which have been highlighted below.
SECTION 69 OF ACT 63 provides that every person to whom

administration of the estate of a deceased person is granted shall,
subject to the limitations contained in the grant, have the same rights
and liabilities and be accountable in like manner as if he were the
executor of the deceased.
This means that except as limited by the grant, executors and
administrators in Ghana have the same rights and liabilities.
The administrator has the right;
a) To recoup themselves from the deceased’s estate for debts or other

liabilities properly or reasonably incurred in the course of administration;
b) To sue, even before the grant of letters of administration, persons,

who are indebted to the testator, or are in possession of property
belonging to the estate; and the Ghana Court of Appeal said in
YEBOAH & ORS v KWAKYE [1987-1988] GLR 63
“In Catheline v. Akufo-Addo in [1984-86] 1 GLR 57, C.A, this court

followed the dicta of Lord Parker of Waddington in Meyappa Chetty
v. Supramanian Chetty [1916] AC 603 at 608, as well as some of the
English authorities on the point, and held that as an executor
derives his title and authority from the will of the testator and not
from any grant of probate, the personal property of the testator
including all rights of action vests in him upon the testator’s death
and the consequence is that he can institute an action in the
character of executor before he proves the will although he cannot
make any dispositions before then. His right to sue is, of course,
reciprocated by his liability to be sued. In the same token a
beneficiary who meddles with the estate before probate can be
sued to challenge his title”
Similarly, before a letter of administration is granted to the administrator,

he can take sue persons who are indebted to the testator. In the case of
BORKETEY LOGOJO v THE ATTORNEY GENERAL AND LANDS
COMMISSION, HIGH COURT, SUIT NO. IRL 170/10 21 NOV 2011, the
court held that personal representatives have the right to sue in relation
to the estate of the deceased person.
c) to retain their own debt, that is, pay a debt due to them from the
deceased out of the assets of the deceased in priority to all other
creditors of equal degree with themselves and before the cost of all
parties, including the plaintiff; but the Administrator- General is precluded
from exercising this right by virtue of SECTION 94(3) OF THE
ADMINISTRATION OF ESTATES ACT, 1961 (ACT 63);
d) to retain out of the pecuniary legacy a debt due to the estate from the
legatee, and this right exists notwithstanding that the debt is statute-
barred, and applies only to pecuniary legacies, not specific legacy, even
of stock.
e) to recover expenses of improvement made on the instructions of a

devisee. Thus in ADA BEIGH v COLIN SHAW [1936] WACA1131 , it
was held by the West African Court of Appeal and affirmed by the Privy
Council, that where the testator’s widow acquired a life-interest in land
under the will of her husband, and the executor, on her instructions,
rebuilt the premises on the devised land for the occupation of the widow,
that he was entitled to an indemnity from the whole of the money
properly expended.
f) To sue a mortgagee, as was held in THOMPSON & ANOR v BRAVO

JONES 1939 5 WACA 85-88 , for re-conveyance of mortgaged property,
after they have paid off a mortgage of real property entered into by the
deceased during his lifetime
g) To appoint trustees of infants’ property under SECTION 102(1) OF

ACT 63 in the case:
“where an infant is absolutely entitled under the will or on the

intestacy of a person dying before or after the commencement of
this act to devise or legacy or to the residue of the estate of the
deceased, or any share therein”
h) To dispose of the residuary estate in accordance with the provisions

of the will or in case of intestacy; it is also provided by SECTION 10 OF
THE ADMINISTRATION OF ESTATES (AMENDMENT) LAW, 1985
(PNDCL 113) as follows:
“the residuary estate shall be disposed of by the personal

representatives in accordance with the will of the deceased or in the
case of intestacy, in accordance with the provisions of the Intestate
Succession Law, 1985 (PNDCL 113)”
i) To appropriate any part of the movable and immovable property of the

deceased in accordance with SECTION 101 OF ACT 63 and it is
provided by subsection 9 of this section as follows;
“An appropriation made pursuant to this section shall bind all persons
interested in the property of the deceased whose consent is not hereby
made requisite”
j) SECTION 71 OF ACT 63 provides that
“A personal representative may distrain upon land for arrears of rent due
or accruing to the deceased in like manner as the deceased might have
done had he been living”
CAN A DEFENDANT (ADMINISTRATOR) IN AN ACTION

COUNTERCLAIM AGAINST ANOTHER DEFENDANT IN THE SAME
ACTION?
UNDER ORDER 12 RULE 5(1) OF THE HIGH COURT CIVIL

PROCEDURE RULES, 2004 ( C.I.47), where a defendant who makes a
counterclaim against the plaintiff alleges that any other person, whether
a party to the action or not, is liable to the defendant together with the
plaintiff in respect of the subject-matter of the counterclaim; or claims
against such other person any relief relating to or connected with the
original subject matter of the action, the defendant may join that other
person as a party against whom the counterclaim is made.
This rule means that in spite of the fact that counterclaims are filed
against the plaintiff in an action when the defendant alleges that he has
any claim or is entitled to any relief or remedy against the plaintiff in an
action, the defendant is allowed to join either a party or non-party to the
counterclaim if;
i) that other party would be joined with the plaintiff in the counterclaim
ii) that the claim against such other person must be in relation to reliefs
which relate to or are connected with the original subject-matter of the
action
This means that the counterclaim cannot be made solely against another
defendant in an action. A counterclaim can only be made against
another defendant in an action if that defendant is joined together with
the plaintiff in relation to the defendants counter claim and the relief
sought from that other defendant is related to or connected with the
original subject matter of the action.

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ADMINISTRATION OF ESTATES

: "personal representative" means the executor, original or by

To help clarify the matter further, the section goes on to define

"Administration" means, with reference to the movable and immovable

Administrator is a person to whom the court has granted letters of

WHAT ARE THE RIGHTS OF AN ADMINISTRATOR?

AZU CRABBE, in his book “LAW OF WILLS IN GHANA” explains

SECTION 69 OF ACT 63 provides that every person to whom

The administrator has the right;

a) To recoup themselves from the deceased’s estate for debts or other

b) To sue, even before the grant of letters of administration, persons,

“In Catheline v. Akufo-Addo in [1984-86] 1 GLR 57, C.A, this court

Similarly, before a letter of administration is granted to the administrator,

e) to recover expenses of improvement made on the instructions of a

f) To sue a mortgagee, as was held in THOMPSON & ANOR v BRAVO

g) To appoint trustees of infants’ property under SECTION 102(1) OF

“where an infant is absolutely entitled under the will or on the

h) To dispose of the residuary estate in accordance with the provisions

“the residuary estate shall be disposed of by the personal

i) To appropriate any part of the movable and immovable property of the

j) SECTION 71 OF ACT 63 provides that

CAN A DEFENDANT (ADMINISTRATOR) IN AN ACTION

UNDER ORDER 12 RULE 5(1) OF THE HIGH COURT CIVIL

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