EDWARD FYNN-SACKEY vs. IRENE FYNN-SACKEY & RAPHAEL FYNN-SACKEY

The plaintiff sought a declaration that house No. J81, Buade, Nungua, Accra, though acquired by his late father, Emmanuel Fynn-Sackey, was purchased in the plaintiff’s name during the father’s lifetime as an advancement and therefore did not form part of the deceased’s intestate estate. The defendants, who were siblings of the plaintiff and administrators of the estate, contended that all properties acquired by the deceased, including those put in the names of his children, formed part of the estate. The undisputed evidence was that the deceased bought the property with his own resources in the plaintiff’s name when the plaintiff was a child, later developed it with his own funds, managed it exclusively, and enjoyed the rents during his lifetime. The central dispute was whether those subsequent acts rebutted the presumption of advancement. Portion indicating this in the judgment: “The Plaintiff sought only one relief from the High Court, Accra, for a declaration that his late father, Emmanuel FynnSackey, who died intestate on 2nd August, 2016, in his lifetime acquired H/No. J81, Buade, Nungua, Accra, in the name of the Plaintiff, and amounted to an advancement and should not form part of his intestate estate.” Also: “The parties were ad idem that their late father acquired the property in dispute with his own resources in the name of the Plaintiff at the time that the Plaintiff was a child...”