[Bogey78O]

If the gov't abandons property why should they come back 50 yrs later and cite a claim on it?

[eddie willers]

If the gov't abandons property why should they come back 50 yrs later and cite a claim on it?

Helluva good question.

[Rebelbase]

"If the gov't abandons property why should they come back 50 yrs later and cite a claim on it?"

If they do have a claim then the owner of the swamp ought to charge them a $20/day storage fee for 50 years.

[RS]

"If the gov't abandons property why should they come back 50 yrs later and cite a claim on it?"

Does the government fill out an "abandoned property" form ? I think not... I would bet that they just gave up the search for it.

BTW - I do think he should get to keep it - unless he completely destroys it they will get it eventually as his decendants will decide it's better to donate it then deal with the taxes...

[KriegerGeist]

Da gubmint is full of lawyers, lawyers sue for everything and anything (like vultures eat carcasses) and there are judges and juries out there that will give them anything the sue for...and make you pay them for the trouble of doing it.

There are ship wrecks at the bottom of Lake Michigan, Lake Huron and Lake Erie with zillions of dollars worth of perfectly good stuff, perfectly preserved by the cold fresh water. Nobody will invest the time or money to salvage any of it because ther are vultures waiting to take away from them whatever they salvage or bring up.

Foor instance, there are ship-loads of (now antique) autos from the factory that went down on lake freighters on their way from the factories. Those autos only need to be dried out, the rubber, leather and fluids replaced and start them up and take a ride. The same goes for other new equipment from the factories that went down on lake freighters in storms on Lake Huron. What a shame.

[Junior]

Maritime law says a wrecked warship is forever the property of the nation that employed it. No one else has any right to salvage it. I don't know if this covers aircraft, though it does set precedents.

[Old Student]

"If the gov't abandons property why should they come back 50 yrs later and cite a claim on it?"

They didn't abandon it, they just left it for safekeeping. Actually, they'll probably say something like that. US government property is not lost or abandoned, it is unsecured.

A few years ago, they wanted to pass a law to reclaim every piece of government property ever sold at auction, too. They were specifically interested in recovering weapons and weapons system parts, but the law was broadly written enough that it covered gov't surplus canteens and such, too. All those old civil-war weapons with US markings, etc., too. EVERYTHING. Even if you still had the reciept to show you bought if FROM the government.