Ghana has a plural succession-law system: the Wills Act, 1971 governs testate succession, while the Intestate Succession Law, 1985 (PNDCL 111), as amended, sets fixed statutory shares for a spouse, children, and dependent parents on intestacy, overriding customary-law rules that previously channeled property to the extended family. Ghana has had no formal estate or inheritance tax since 1969, though a 3% court fee on estate value applies when obtaining probate or letters of administration.
A plural system: statute overriding customary law on intestacy
Ghana's succession-law system is genuinely plural. Testate succession -- where a valid will exists --
is governed by the Wills Act, 1971 (Act 360). Where a person dies without a valid will, the Intestate
Succession Law, 1985 (PNDC Law 111), as amended, applies, and was specifically designed to override
customary-law inheritance rules that had previously channeled a deceased person's property to the
extended family or clan rather than to the nuclear family. PNDCL 111 mandates fixed statutory shares for
a surviving spouse, children, and dependent parents, regardless of the deceased's ethnic or customary
background. Customary law continues to govern many family and succession matters where it has not been
displaced by statute, but is subordinate to PNDCL 111 on intestate estates. This platform could not
confirm whether a distinct statutory Islamic succession regime exists for Muslims in Ghana -- comparable
to India's own Muslim Personal Law -- and flags this explicitly as unconfirmed rather than asserting an
answer either way.
No formal estate tax, but a real 3% probate fee
Ghana has had no formal estate or inheritance tax since the Estate Duty Act was repealed in 1969, and
PwC's own Worldwide Tax Summaries confirms that inheritance, estate, and gift taxes are not separately
provided for under current Ghanaian tax law. A genuinely distinctive, accurate point worth flagging for
families: under the Civil Proceedings (Fees and Allowances) Rules, 2007 (C.I. 55), as amended by C.I. 86
of 2014, a 3% court fee on the value of the estate applies when obtaining probate or letters of
administration -- functioning economically like an inheritance tax even though Ghana does not style it
as one. Separately, gifts received by individuals in Ghana are taxed as assessable income at marginal
rates, which is a different mechanism from an inheritance tax but relevant to lifetime transfers.
What this means for NRIs connected to Ghana with Indian assets
None of Ghana's succession rules displace Indian succession law for assets located in India. An NRI
connected to Ghana inheriting property in India remains governed by the relevant Indian personal law
(Hindu Succession Act, Indian Succession Act, or applicable personal law depending on religion), exactly
as it would be for any other NRI, regardless of where in Ghana's plural system their Ghana-side
inheritance falls.
Common mistakes people connected to Ghana make:
- Assuming Ghana's PNDCL 111 statutory shares apply to Indian-situs assets -- they do not; Indian
succession law governs assets in India.
- Overlooking the 3% probate court fee when budgeting for administering a Ghana estate.
- Assuming customary law automatically applies on intestacy, when PNDCL 111's statutory shares
take precedence.
