In the 1960's, Genevieve Veder donated the Duke of Alcantra Strad to UCLA, which loaned the valuable instrument to violinist David Margetts, who lost it. When the instrument surfaced 27 years later, another violinist claimed that she was the rightful owner because UCLA did not have complete documentation showing its ownership. Documentation showing change of ownership is equally important in real estate transactions.
Read MoreHuguette Clark died at the age of 104 in a hospital under a pseudonym, divorced, childless, and a recluse, belying her background. Three years after her death. While cleaning out a closet in one of Huguette’s New York City apartments, someone found a violin bearing the Stradivari label tucked away, untouched for more than 25 years. Reading about Huguette and the one-in-a-million real Strad, I recalled a recent experience in my own life. I received a telephone message no one wants–my bank manager was calling. She said it was important and I should call her as soon as possible.
Read MoreThe relationship between a violin and the violinist who plays it[1] is a close one. Such likely was the case with violinist Roman Totenberg with his close companion, the Ames Stradivarius when, in 1980, the violin was stolen from Totenberg’s office in Cambridge, Massachusetts. A violin thief does not gain title merely because he has possessed the violin for a period of time. With real estate, however, there is the possibility of someone who unlawfully uses someone else’s property gaining title through “adverse possession.”
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