Ghana's 1985 Intestate Succession Law (PNDC Law 111) is a notable example of attempts by postcolonial African states to introduce new forms of protection for widows and children in cases of death ‘intestate' (that is, when the deceased person had not made a valid will). Whilst some legal scholars depicted Law 111 as a radical departure from customary laws pertaining to marriage and property, feminist scholars have been more sceptical, pointing to deficiencies in both the letter and implementation of the law, and advocating for further reform. This article is driven by a historical question: given that several previous governments had considered the issue of intestate succession but had not actually reformed the law, why did the military regime of Flight Lieutenant Jerry Rawlings decide upon Law 111 in 1985? The national archives for this period are fragmentary, but we draw from newspapers, ‘grey literature', and oral history interviews to trace the prolonged struggle over intestate succession, suggest what motivated the Rawlings' regime in 1985, and identify the compromises that were made. By locating Law 111 in Ghana's postcolonial political history, we nuance established typologies of women’s organisation, activism, and advocacy.