Komfueku community receives education on succession laws and domestic violence
A day’s community meeting on domestic violence and succession laws has been organised for the Komfueku community in the western Region with a call on them to make personal Wills.
Mr Edmund Acquah-Arhin of the Gaisie Zwennes Hughes and co chamber in Takoradi said the making of Wills makes it easier for families to smoothly share property of a deceased relative.
He said it is also important for people to cross check with the lawyer of a deceased relative to be sure the deceased had a written will and if not the family would need to write a letter of administration to the court which was stated in the PNDC Law 111 in order to share the property.
Mr Acquah-Arhin explained that the letter of administration only gives the person the right to share the property and not to keep any property that does not belong to him or her.
He further explained that the letter is only given when the family produced a death certificate and the authorization from the head of the family to support the claim of the death, noting that the letter takes 21 days to be processed.
He pointed out that a beneficiary could report the executioner if the person was withholding a share of the property because of a dispute between them, adding that the ” person sharing the property is only an administrator not a beneficiary and therefore has no right to keep any.
On Domestic violence, Acquah-Arhin said emotional, verbal and psychology abuse which are normally not seen as domestic violence is a serious issue and must be looked at again.
“Insulting and degrading a person to the lowest level is a criminal offense, whether the person is your friend, wife, husband, child or your tenant does not warrant any abuse and such persons must be reported to the appropriate office for redress “.
He said the hurtful words could lead to psychological problems resulting in depression and loss of self esteem.
Mr Acquah-Arhin added that, landlords who harassed tenants simply because they owned their house rent should be reported to the police since it was a criminal offence.
He advised the people to report such issues to the Domestic violence and Victim support unit (DOVVSU) for them to take Action against such persons.
Source: GNA