We spend fortunes on funerals but avoid one simple act that could save our families years of pain — writing a will.
Around the world, celebrities die without wills and leave behind chaos instead of comfort. Prince’s $300 million estate took six years to settle. Aretha Franklin’s handwritten notes sparked family battles. Even in Africa, from Lucky Dube to OJB Jezreel, great talents left behind sorrow and legal wars.
In Ghana, the story is familiar. The passing of my dear friend Daddy Lumba reminds us of a painful truth — behind the music, fame, and tributes lie families who must face reality: what happens next? There appears to be a wil,l which will unfortunately most likely be contested. When lawyers – rather than his family or spouse – announced his passing away, I personally braced myself for the drama that is currently unfolding.
We celebrate death more than we plan for life after it. We spend lavishly on funerals, yet many mourners can’t afford rent or school fees. Under PNDC Law 111, when someone dies without a will, property is divided by formula — not affection. Without a clear will, confusion takes over, and the courts, not love, decide what legacy remains.
Too many estates in Ghana turn into battlefields — estranged spouses who never divorced, partners without ‘papers’, children whose names are missing from property records. These situations can be avoided. It’s not taboo to plan; it’s wisdom.
Give away property while you are alive.
Register assets in your children’s names.
Write a simple will under the Wills Act (Act 360).
And to those holding on to marriages that ended decades ago — sometimes, closure is the greatest gift you can give yourself and your family. Divorce is not failure. It is clarity. It prevents decades of silent pain and future confusion.
We honour our icons not by how grand their funerals are, but by how peaceful their families live after they are gone. True legacy is order — not opulence.
Write the will. Sign the deed. Speak your wishes clearly.
Because when the music stops, the law — not emotion — takes over.
Source: Kofi Asmah
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