Posted: 7/22/2011 9:18:35 PM EDT
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I am relatively new to the forums here and have been doing a lot of reading about NFA items and purchasing/manufacturing them with a trust.
My question is this: Is it possible to purchase non-NFA firearms as a trust, or purchase them and then transfer them to said trust? Is this practical to do? What advantages/disadvantages does this have over purchasing as an individual? Thanks guys |
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Quoted: I am relatively new to the forums here and have been doing a lot of reading about NFA items and purchasing/manufacturing them with a trust. My question is this: Is it possible to purchase non-NFA firearms as a trust, or purchase them and then transfer them to said trust? Is this practical to do? What advantages/disadvantages does this have over purchasing as an individual? Thanks guys Yes. You can own other items in a trust. A trust contains an assignment document, listing the items in the trust, so you could add you non-NFA firearms that way. They could be purchased directly by the trust or could be transferred in. The same can be done with an NFA item, but if you already own the NFA in your name and want to transfer to the trust, you have to pay the $200 and do the form 4 paperwork. I don't know that there's much advantage. Most of us do the trust route to avoid CLEO sign off and fingerprints. Also, all the trustees can possess or use the NFA items. If NFA is owned by an individual, ONLY the named individual can use them, and must store the NFA items in a way that denies access for anyone else. These factors aren't a problem with a non-NFA firearm. If my wife has the safe combination for my non-NFA guns, the ATF doesn't care. Having non-NFA items in a trust could help with inheritance and ownership issues, but non-NFA inheritance and ownership don't have much in the way of legal issues anyway. The attorney who drew up my trust specifically recommended against having non-NFA items in my trust. He prefers to keep it "clean", rather than mixing firearms with differing legal requirements and restrictions. That's a long answer. The short answer is: Sure, you can do it, but it doesn't really offer much advantage. |
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I hear a lot of people that aren't lawyers make the statement that all the trustees of a trust can possess the items. This has never made much sense to me. It will necessarily include the beneficiaries of the trust, since the whole point of a trust is that the trustee holds the property for the benefit of the beneficiaries. The trust document should say something like: the trustee is to manage the trust property and allow the beneficiaries to use it as he decides in his sole discretion. Then list all your friends and family, as well as yourself, as beneficiaries. If you name others as trustees, then they have authority to sell/ dispose of the property.
BTW, I know of no reported authority on this point, but a couple years ago I attended a seminar where the deputy general counsel of the ATF was speaking, and she seemed to acknowledge the point. The biggest thing is to make sure you have a valid trust. Get a lawyer licensed in the jurisdiction where you reside who is knowledgable about NFA to draft it for you. It is worth the money. Really. You will be able to get all the NFA toys you want without CLEO sign off or fingerprints. If a DIY the trust is ever found invalid because you tried to do it yourself with a form off the Internet, then you conceivable risk prosecution for posession of an unregistered NFA firearm. Not worth it. |