Lawyer Mary Ohenewaa Afful has said that many lawyers are dying out of stress resulting from litigation cases in court.
According to her, cases of litigation, especially with regard to property distribution, attract a lot of stress and it is a major concern for lawyers.
Madam Ohenewaa Afful made the disclosure on Angel FM’s Anopa Bofo Breakfast Show where she counselled the public to prepare their will early instead of waiting to be on their ‘death bed’ before doing so.
She explained that the stressful nature of such litigation cases is making lawyers sick and in some cases causing deaths.
“We are dying, we are getting sick and it comes with so much stress. Sometimes, it’s not like you don’t even want money. You want money alright but the job is coming with stress…”, she told the host, Kofi Adoma Nwanwani.
Lawyer Ohenewaa Afful revealed that many people out of ignorance fail to write their will which is the cause of many court cases though there is Intestate Succession Act, 1985 (PNDC Law III) to deal with the injustices, which the traditional customary practices meted out to spouses after a man dies intestate.
She added that to avoid the stress that comes with such litigation some lawyers deliberately refuse to take up the case or they limit what they can do as a survival mechanism.
“I’m not someone who encourages litigation because a lot of lawyers are even dying from stress that comes with litigation. People make issues complicated expecting lawyers to solve difficult problems. So even me for sometime, I am sick at home and I have gone off so many things because it is stressful…”, the lawyer emphasized.
She therefore called on the media to educate the public on the need to have a will, which she believes would save relatives and lawyers from litigation stress.
