Genevieve,

Meegan, Kati and Grant all had valid assessments and suggestions.  The
bottom line is, exactly who owned the items when they were donated.  If they
aren't mentioned specifically in the will, the man probably gave them to his
daughter of his own free will and as they passed to her possession she had
the right to donate them.  However, if she had taken them from his house
without his knowledge, that's different, but they would have to prove it.
Either way, the will is the place to start. If they were mentioned in the
will, be sure you deal directly with the executor of the will and not anyone
else to get it resolved.

 

I dealt with many such claims at a former museum. It was always tricky.  Try
to come off as being fair minded, and don't dig in your heels until you have
sorted out the legalities and the back story.  I encountered several
instances when one family member donated things specifically so the other
family members couldn't get them, especially if the donating member believed
that the other party would sell the things and he or she wanted to protect
the items' association with the family.

 

There is also the PR factor, which you pay attention to but do not cave in
to.  Avoid being adversarial, and develop a sympathetic demeanor, with "I'd
really like to help you, but..  [there's no mention of these items in the
will."]  or  [. it was apparently your father's wish that you sister have
these."] etc.  

 

Since you don't necessarily feel the items are vital to your collection, the
idea of offering to transfer them to the other museum is a  perfect
solution. The items stay in the public sector, and the donors sibs are happy
(we hope).

 

If you were here in the U.S. there would also be the issue of IRS
involvement, if someone took a tax donation (or was eligible to whether they
did or not) the IRS position would be that the public sector would have to
be compensated it they items go back to the private sector.  (i.e. they
would have to compensate you at market value.)

 

Good luck getting is solved amicably!

 

Lucy Sperlin

Butte County Historical Society

Oroville, CA

 

 

 

 

From: Museum discussion list [mailto:[log in to unmask]] On Behalf
Of Genevieve Carter
Sent: Wednesday, August 26, 2015 11:30 AM
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: [MUSEUM-L] Return of Donated Items

 

Hello!

    Four years ago our museum was given a small collection of World War
II-related artifacts (medals, letters, photographs and a uniform) by a
daughter of their original owner.  This woman has recently died and her
siblings have come forward claiming that she had not been authorized by the
rest of the family to donate their father's belongings to us. She was not
the executor of her father's estate. They would like to have the medals
returned to the family, as it had always been their intention to donate them
to another museum.  

    Has anyone on the list had to deal with a situation like this? Our
collections policy states that we do not return artifacts to donors (or
descendents), but their acceptance had been based on the assumption that the
donor had the right to donate in the first place. 

    We have a number of World War II medals in the collection, so returning
them to the family would not impinge on the breadth of the collection, but
we are concerned about the message that this might send to the community if
word gets out: "If you cause a big enough fuss, they'll give you your stuff
back."

    Thanks for any insight you can offer.

 

Genevieve Carter

Huronia Museum

Midland, Ontario

 

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