KORANTENG-ADDOW J.: The wife of the deceased in this matter, married under the customary law, applied to this court for letters of administration to enable her to administer the estate of her deceased husband and particularly to enable her to obtain the gratuity or deduction made under the social security fund. According to her, her late husband died leaving nothing in the form of property or cash because he had spent all his money mainly on drinking. Because of his inebriate habits, according to the applicant, the deceased had been given up for lost by the members of his family and none of them came anywhere near him. The deceased had six children with the applicant and most of them are still at school. It was in fact to enable her to pay their fees and to maintain those children that she sought the permission to administer the estate and to be able to claim the gratuity.
The defendant brought it to the notice of the court that her husband died on 24 August 1971 and that before he was…