Hello Sarah, What are most likely looking at are bequests, in which the donor name listed is the executor of the trust/estate, most likely a lawyer or unrelated third party. The estate name should be the donor name because in the event of death the estate takes "ownership" of all assets and trust document or will tells the executor what is to be done with it. If you have a letter of bequest from the executor listing the items or a deed of gift signed by him listing the estate items. The ownership has passed from the estate to the museum legally. Of course this is a general statement of estate process and gifting to museums. Best of Luck, Jocelyn Jocelyn Boigenzahn Registration student JHU AAP Mus. Studies MA -------- Original message -------- From: Sarah Baylinson <[log in to unmask]> Date: 04/29/2015 1:23 AM (GMT-05:00) To: [log in to unmask] Subject: [MUSEUM-L] Deed of Gift for Deceased Hello All, I am working at a museum that is diligently trying to enter many of their older donations into PastPerfect. In doing this we have run into a few issues but one that is recurring has to do with legal ownership. We have many deed of gifts with a donor name sited and also the name of the person that owned the estate. These two people are not related at all, and it is unclear how the donor obtained these items though we don't believe it was any sort of theft. We've had most these items for 30 years or better. My questions are, do we site the donor or the estate name and do we legally have rights to it or does it need to go through abandoned property law steps? Thank you in advance for any input you have to offer. Best, Sarah Baylinson Collections Manager Bowman Museum ========================================================= 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).