Hello list,
I work at a small historic house museum and I don't have a lot of experience handling large donations.  We recently received a bequest of china that is worth a good deal of money.  The china was meant to go to another museum, which refused to accept it, and in that event it was supposed to revert to the executor's ownership.  The executor, however remembered the deceased's connection to our institution and decided to offer the china to us.
I did not want to accept all of it for several reasons.  Some does not fit our mission statement, some is in poor condition, most are incomplete sets or single pieces, and we have very little storage/display space.  I voiced my opininions but was overruled by the institution's director and the collections committee chair. (Both also refused bring the decision before the full collections committee, which is the procedure outlined in our collections policy.)
The executor was notified at the time of transfer that we would like to sell some of the china to benefit the existing collections and he gave verbal approval.  I am not aware of any tax forms he may have signed, only of a transfer of ownership that our director was asked to sign and notarize. (This document has not been signed yet, even though the china was physically transferred to us in 2009.)
Now, the director and annual auction benefit committee have decided to offer some of the better pieces at our annual silent auction.  They plan to contact the executor as he expressed an interest in being notified should these pieces ever go up for auction.  They also plan to place a "buy it now" price on the items.
My question is, is all of this allowable legally?  I know that in some cases of disposal, the IRS must be notified.  Would that apply in this case?  I'm not sure who I can ask for advice- we don't have a lawyer and I will not be able to get approval to speak to one on this matter.
Thank you for any and all advice!
Jen

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