At this point the objects can be considered to be yours. If there is no loan agreement, and if you are not in violation of any agreement that has been documented, then the concept of "abandonment" comes into play. After a certain point, if someone has not claimed their property it is considered abandoned and as holder of the property you own it. If the descendent makes any trouble you cold always try to collect "storage fees" for the intervening four decades. Don't expect that you will have any problems unless the objects are monetarily very valuable. Ask an attorney for definitive answers in your state. Cheers, -Nicholas -----Original Message----- From: Museum discussion list [mailto:[log in to unmask]]On Behalf Of Susannah West Sent: Thursday, May 20, 2004 3:31 AM To: [log in to unmask] Subject: Re: Requests to Rescind Donations I'm so glad this topic has come up, because it is something that has been really concerning me lately. We have several items in our collections that were LOANED, apparently in the early 1960s, which don't have any loan agreement documentation associated with them as far as anyone knows (or if there was, it's gone missing). A couple of years ago, a descendant of the original lender wanted to see these items (which ARE on display, as we have absolutely no storage space) but wasn't able to as the museum was closed at the time. I have since tried to contact her, but received no response. I have a nightmare that she will show up and demand them back. I brought up this concern to our Board of Directors, and it came as a total surprise to them that these items were on loan rather than the property of the Ohio Historical Society. I've queried the Ohio Historical Society, and have gotten the advice that I should probably "let sleeping dogs lie." But what happens when the dogs wake up?! Susannah West John Rankin House, Ripley, Ohio ========================================================= Important Subscriber Information: The Museum-L FAQ file is located at http://www.finalchapter.com/museum-l-faq/ . You may obtain detailed information about the listserv commands by sending a one line e-mail message to [log in to unmask] . The body of the message should read "help" (without the quotes). If you decide to leave Museum-L, please send a one line e-mail message to [log in to unmask] . The body of the message should read "Signoff Museum-L" (without the quotes). ========================================================= Important Subscriber Information: The Museum-L FAQ file is located at http://www.finalchapter.com/museum-l-faq/ . You may obtain detailed information about the listserv commands by sending a one line e-mail message to [log in to unmask] . The body of the message should read "help" (without the quotes). If you decide to leave Museum-L, please send a one line e-mail message to [log in to unmask] . The body of the message should read "Signoff Museum-L" (without the quotes).