[2008]DLCA6724 • July 10, 2008 • Court of Appeal
IN THE MATTER OF THE ESTATE OF ALBIN KOREM [DECEASED] AND APPLICATION FOR L/A BY ZUZANA SPIZAKA (APPLICANT/APPELLANT) AND CHARLOTE AMA OFORI (CAVEATRIX/RESPONDENT)
The deceased, Albin Korem, a Slovakian citizen who resided in Ghana since 1971, died intestate in Slovakia in 2006 without surviving spouse or issue. His niece, Zuzana Spizaka, applied for Letters of Administration to administer the estate. The Respondent, Charlotte Ama Ofori, filed a caveat claiming to be a customary adopted child of the deceased and thus an interested party. The High Court granted Letters of Administration jointly to both parties, prompting the appeal by the Applicant.
read moreAPALOO, J.A. On 24th April, 2007 the High Court Accra delivered a ruling in which it granted Letters of Administration to both the Appellant/Applicant and the Respondent/Caveatrix on the basis that the Respondent had established her claim as an adopted child of the deceased and therefore an interested party in the estate of the deceased. For easy reference, I shall adopt the title of the parties as used in the proceedings in the Court below. The deceased Albin Korem whose estate is the subject matter of the appeal was a citizen of Slovakia. He came to live in Ghana in 1971 and worked as an agriculturist, writer and a journalist. He died on 1st May 2006 at Kosice-Zepad in Slovakia after a short illness. Having died without any surviving spouse or issues in Ghana or in his native Slovakia, his only surviving sister Maria Kurimska executed a power of attorney in favour of her daughter Zuzana Spizaka who is a niece of the deceased to obtain Letters of Administration to administer...