Cleo sign-off vs trust. Ever regret doing one over the other?

I used to think I wanted to go the trust route. Not to get around the Cleo sign-off, I just thought it would give me more options as far as including my dad and brother in the trust. Now that I think about the headache of creating a trust, or paying a lawyer to write up the paperwork, getting a Cleo's signature just seems so much simpler. If I go the easier route, what are the chances I will later regret not having set up the trust to begin with?

Chances of you regretting it are really all on you, all you can do is weigh the pros and cons and do one or the other. I have no issues with CLEO signoff and all my NFA toys are in my name. Trust route just didn't appeal to me. I don't regret the decision, but on a rare occasion it can be annoying, like having to explain to the wife why she's not allowed to have the combo to my gun safe....

Individual (CLEO route);

1) Have to go there, waste your time, waste their time.

2) More paperwork, photo , finger prints, more of your time

3) CLEO = Elected official, if he gets voted out, the next CLEO may not sign.

4) YOU own it, YOU are liable and only YOU can possess and use the NFA item.

5) Must visit CLEO each and every time to get sign off.

6) PoPo in your business.


Trust route or any other entity i.e LLC, partnership,;

1) Less paperwork, less running around.

2) Dont have to see the PoPo every time you want to send in a Form 1 or Form 4.

3) Its an Entity, the trust owns it, theoretically less liability.

4) Easier to pass along to family members.

5) Can list officers in an LLC that can possess and use the NFA items outside of your presents.

6) A trust doesnt need maintained, where as an LLC does.

7) Once you set up the initial trust, its done, no maintance or tax forms to submit, just update the schedule 4 each time you add or subtract items.

8) for those that dont have a WILL, a trust is a great alternative to get your household in order.


I live in an area CLEO wont sign but even if they did, I wouldve still gone Trust route based on the above.

Agree –– LLC is best way to go - limits liability - extends Class 3 ownership to ALL LLC Officers not just single individual - no issues for 'ownership' by rest of family (should you meet early or otherwise EOL) provides they are all 'Officers'. Cost of LLC is about $500 - then aprox $200 per year to maintain (oh, and its an Income Tax deduction - as well as other things if you keep good books and actually Operate the LLC as a "business") Definately way to go

I tried to get my local police chief to sign off on a form 1..wasted 2 weeks and a couple of phone calls before realizing that he was never going to do it..I should have known when I went to that office and his clerical staff wasn't clear on the process...County Sheriff cranked it out in one day and handed out plastic badges to the kids.

I regret going the individual route on my first two cans, personally.

Trust just makes much more sense - and I obviously live in an area where the CLEO will sign off. It's just not worth the hassle of heading to the station, getting printed, having my forms copied and kept on file ( at that one), etc. Now I hear that my Sheriff has changed the procedures and they now want you to leave your packet with them, check and all, and wait for up to 2 weeks while the Sheriff signs it before they mail it off for you. No thanks! I can now drop a F1 in the mail whenever I want.

Well worth it. That and my family can be on the trust.

I have done many many trusts for people and have never had a client come back to me and say they regretted going the trust route. I have had many clients who already own items as individuals come to me to get a trust for future purchases even though they can get a signoff.

I asked a question kind of like this in the SBR forum and have not had very good responses yet. It seems that some of you know about this so can I pick at your brains a little please?

I have attended gunsmithing school and finished but I will be taking two summer NRA classes next summer on AR's. A national match class with whiteoak, and a AR 15 service rifle class. My projects are pretty much up to me so my intentions are to take a suppressed SBR with me but have to figure out how to do this because this is all new to me. I have friends in my local PD SWAT and they are currently running 16" barrels and want shorter barrels and suppressors so this project will be for me but to have something for them to see and try out.

I am trying to get my ducks in a row to start my own shop. I have the schooling and have set up my LLC but have not applied for my FFL yet. I intend to do that next month sometime. I just moved and am going to have to have my LLC address moved and state drivers license address changed and then I should be ready to go...

So it is looking like I can use my LLC to do this SBR and suppressor. Do I understand that part right? How is this done or where do I find the information on how to do it without making mistakes. My wife will be helping me in the shop but I did not have her listed on the LLC so I guess I would need to change that to help us stay within the limits of the law.

If you can help me out here and get me pointed in the right direction I would truly appreciate it.

Thanks

My first few transfers have been on a Trust (As they were done when I lived in the Anti core of Milwaukee, WI), but I've done individual in my new location of Grand Forks, ND.

I can get free prints for being a former student at UND, and the CLEO signoff took a day the first time I tried (Dropped it off and got it back the next day, no questions asked) and 5 minutes the last time (Watched receptionist take paperwork to Sheriff, he read them, signed, and gave them back). While a trust does offer some benefits, since individual is insanely easy and convenient where I live now, I have no problem doing it.

Quick question... do you have to have a CLEO signoff or a Trust? or can you just own a class 3 item/wpn and thats the end of it?

Only natural persons are required to get a CLEO signature, not trusts or corporations, etc.

Class 3 is a type of tax and a special taxpayer status held by a dealer to deal in NFA firearms, not a type of firearm or item.

Apologies, i was using the "class 3" term in a general use, i have been studying up on the FFL and SOT laws as much as i can lately. I was aware that in certain counties or states you had to get a CLEO signature but i didnt realize it applied everywhere.

So basically, if i want to buy an NFA weapon/item i go to the dealer and fill out my form 4. If i setup or already have a NFA firearms trust, the transfer is to that trust. if i do a transfer to me the individual, i have to get my CLEO to sign off on it? sorry for all the confusion, you know how confusing all these ridiculous rules can be.

I've been wondering about this myself... I have one NFA item, and went the individual route. I am thinking about setting up a trust for future use.

You can transfer it to a trust. $200 tax due.

Thanks... I think for $200 I'll just leave it like it is for now, and put any new items under the trust. Thanks again!

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