Hello All,

I have a question that you might be able to help me out with; I hope.  The
Registrar here at my museum is working on closing out some old loans (I'm
talking about items that go as far back as the 1940s and 1950s.)  We do have
an abandoned property law here in South Dakota that states that after ten
years we may advertise the item in the newspaper and if no one responds to
the ad then the property is legally that of the museum and we may accession
or dispose of the item or items.  Here comes the difficulty.  If someone
responds to the ad the law only states that the claimant must give proof of
ownership to the museum's satisfaction.  We're having trouble deciding
exactly what "to our satisfaction" means.  Does the person have to have the
original loan receipt, which is very unlikely for a 60 year old loan?  Does
anyone have experience with similar situations and laws that might be able
to offer their perspective?  Also, what if the person is deceased?  Can the
item be claimed by a relative, if so by which relatives (for example
children only or only the executor of the will)?  We have referred to our
state's attorney for this last question but I'd appreciate any thoughts.

Thanks in advance for you help.
Laura L. Hortz
Curator of Collections
Siouxland Heritage Museums
Sioux Falls, SD
605-367-4210 ext. 3021







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