Astrida, You should consult an attorney in your jurisdiction with some experience in trusts and estates. There are simply too many issues to address in this forum. E.g. When did the donor die? In what state was the donor domiciled at death? Who is/was the executor? Has the estate been probated? Etc. Robert Vosburgh, Jr., Esq. Associate Professor Program Director, Museum Communication University of the Arts -----Original Message----- From: Schaeffer, Astrida <[log in to unmask]> To: [log in to unmask] Sent: Fri, Sep 3, 2010 8:35 am Subject: donor intent question Good morning everyone— I’m in the process ofgoing through NH’s museum abandoned art legal process, but there’s nothingin the law that deals with this situation: Several years ago, we were given20-30 paintings, drawings and prints by a gentleman whose primary motivationwas a tax break (he was not otherwise an art collector; there was a time wherea small group of donors collaborated with each other on buying art in order to gettax breaks by offering it to us and he was one of them. We’re very gladthey’ve stopped as the whole thing was questionable and awkward.) At anyrate, I have plenty of correspondence to and from him discussing the potentialgift, which our collection committee had voted on and had accepted almost allof. He left the works with us, but was waiting to actually sign the Gift Deed untilhe sold a particular parcel of real estate. Subsequent attempts on our part tocontact him as time went by had no result, and in our most recent attempt wediscovered that he had passed away. He was unmarried with no children, and hisonly sibling and both parents are also now gone. He never did actually sign aGift Deed. So my question is: since we haveproof of gift intent, can we go ahead and accession the works? With no signeddeed, how do we prove/have paperwork for ownership? Or do I need to attempt tofind out if he had a designated heir and start the whole process over again? Any advice would be appreciated! Astrida ******************************* Astrida Schaeffer, Exhibitionsand Collections Manager Museum of Art, University of New Hampshire Paul Creative Arts Center 30 Academic Way Durham, NH 03824-3538 603-862-0310 FAX: 603-862-2191 www.unh.edu/moa ******************************* =========================================================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).