Transfer of Ownership Question

[Budrbean]

Hi,
New here and cant find anything on the internet to answer my question. I am in the process of getting in contact with my step-mother who I havent talked to in a long time. She has my dads 2 pistols that he owned before he passed away several years ago.

Both guns were registered in his name. My question is this....How do I legally transfer ownership of these pistols to my name?

I know ultimately I will have to call the courthouse, just thought Id see if there is anyone on here that has ran into this before and could share some information.

Thanks!

[DefensiveCarry.com]

[arby238]

In Connecticut if you have a permit you bring them to a FFL dealer and pay him to do the paperwork.
Contact a local gun dealer and see if it is the same there.

[bbqgrill]

Most people think there are gun registration laws because all the TV cop shows find the bad guy because of gun registration; your father purchased the guns but they are not "registered" to anyone. Only a couple of States require registration, Alabama is not one of those States. You need to be 21 years old (maybe 18) and not have any felony convictions to legally possess a handgun. The only way it becomes a little sticky is if the guns are not in AL; in that case to be completely legal you need to do a transfer of ownership at a gun shop in your home State. I am not a lawyer and I do not live in AL but these are fairly uniform rules.

[AZ Husker]

Unless your Mom reports them stolen, take them home and enjoy them!

[Budrbean]

Yeah I guess I was a little sketchy there. I know the guns dont have to be registered in AL. I just want them to be legally mine. I just dont know if a dealer can do a transfer with my father being deceased. I have no probs with the background, I am already a responsible gun owner of 2 handguns.

Unless your Mom reports them stolen, take them home and enjoy them!

See I wouldnt put that past her after the fact. Thats why I want the guns as mine. Plus I will be carrying one of them with me quite often. I have concealed permit, just making sure its no big deal because the gun was purchased by my father.

[archer51]

Since there is no requirement to register the guns in AL, just to cover yourself, draw up a transfer agreement for the guns, listing the make, model and serial numbers and both of you sign it. Give her a copy and keep one for yourself.

[user]

Take a look at this website:Chesapeake & Ohio Armory; scroll down the page to a link near the bottom that says, "Affidavit and Bill of Sale" - you may need to modify it a bit if it isn't right for what you want to do, but most of it is about federal law that applies even in Alabama. Right-click on that link and say, "save target as" or some such to download the PDF form.

Fill out one of those for each gun, and list the executor of the estate as the transferor (seller); But the way to do the signature is, print the name of the deceased (and it doesn't matter how long ago that happened, btw), followed by a comma and the word, "deceased", and right underneath that, write the word, "by", followed by the name of the executor, and the word, "executor", and somewhere under or to the side, where ever there's room, the executor's own signature.

list the value as $1.00 if you want, or write in something like, "transfer by inheritance". That way you'll have documentary evidence that you are the true owner of the gun.

If you have any questions about that, ask a local attorney, but I'm pretty sure that form will work anywhere. And you're better off not calling the courthouse, btw.

[Budrbean]

Do you think it matters that he didnt have a will? I mean I guess technically with that being the case then she is the legal owner of the guns since she was his wife at time of death. I havent really thought of it that way.

[archer51]

If there was no will, then yes by law unless she is prohibited from owning a gun, they would automatically become her legal property.

[BlackJack]

Have her sign a receipt saying that she has passed them on to you.

[Hopyard]

If there was no will, then yes by law unless she is prohibited from owning a gun, they would automatically become her legal property.

As a practical matter and since time has passed, it likely doesn't matter that there was no will. But, don't assume that all property became hers on his death. This varies considerably by state; you and any siblings may have been entitled to some significant fraction of anything he had.

Your mother, if she lives in a home she owned with him, may need to have the title transfered to her name, and that would require some sort of transaction in a probate court. Same for tranfer of car titles. It might be a perfunctory process, but necessary.

If your dad had debts there might be residual issues.

I'd go ahead and take the guns in good faith that they are your mom's to give to you, or that they would have been left to you, but you need to make sure your mom has done the things needed to protect herself (settle the estate) and to prevent a mess after her passing--hopefully many years from now.

As for the gun transfer, if you and your mom live in the same state, just take them from her. If they have to cross state lines, you will need to use an FFL at both ends. Still, mom won't have to prove they are her guns to ship. As long as no one ever reported them stolen, she is good to go and so are you.

It is of course possible that there was good planning and titles were transferred and property disbursed, and debts paid, before your dads passing, and there is nothing more to be done. Just double check for your mom's sake.

[bbqgrill]

As a practical matter and since time has passed, it likely doesn't matter that there was no will. But, don't assume that all property became hers on his death. This varies considerably by state; you and any siblings may have been entitled to some significant fraction of anything he had.

Your mother, if she lives in a home she owned with him, may need to have the title transfered to her name, and that would require some sort of transaction in a probate court. Same for tranfer of car titles. It might be a perfunctory process, but necessary.

If your dad had debts there might be residual issues.

I'd go ahead and take the guns in good faith that they are your mom's to give to you, or that they would have been left to you, but you need to make sure your mom has done the things needed to protect herself (settle the estate) and to prevent a mess after her passing--hopefully many years from now.

As for the gun transfer, if you and your mom live in the same state, just take them from her. If they have to cross state lines, you will need to use an FFL at both ends. Still, mom won't have to prove they are her guns to ship. As long as no one ever reported them stolen, she is good to go and so are you.

It is of course possible that there was good planning and titles were transferred and property disbursed, and debts paid, before your dads passing, and there is nothing more to be done. Just double check for your mom's sake.

Thank the Lord you are here to ask and answer every question that was not under consideration. I feel so educated by your pronouncements from College Station, you must be real important to know so much stuff.


Have a great life

[Budrbean]

As a practical matter and since time has passed, it likely doesn't matter that there was no will. But, don't assume that all property became hers on his death. This varies considerably by state; you and any siblings may have been entitled to some significant fraction of anything he had.

Your mother, if she lives in a home she owned with him, may need to have the title transfered to her name, and that would require some sort of transaction in a probate court. Same for tranfer of car titles. It might be a perfunctory process, but necessary.

If your dad had debts there might be residual issues.

I'd go ahead and take the guns in good faith that they are your mom's to give to you, or that they would have been left to you, but you need to make sure your mom has done the things needed to protect herself (settle the estate) and to prevent a mess after her passing--hopefully many years from now.

As for the gun transfer, if you and your mom live in the same state, just take them from her. If they have to cross state lines, you will need to use an FFL at both ends. Still, mom won't have to prove they are her guns to ship. As long as no one ever reported them stolen, she is good to go and so are you.

It is of course possible that there was good planning and titles were transferred and property disbursed, and debts paid, before your dads passing, and there is nothing more to be done. Just double check for your mom's sake.

Yeah all that was handled. The home was not in his name, it was in my grandmothers and that got sold. The only vehicle he owned was paid for and my step-mother sold it later. I still havent even got in touch with her to see if she even has the guns....hopefully will today. I have wondered at some point if I would have legal right to the guns if she refused to give them to me. Afterall I am blood kin, my fathers son....she is a step-mother, 3rd wife.

All I know is I was 14 when Dad passed. She had told us then that she had some property that included these 2 guns and some jewelry that she would give me and my brother when we were of age. Well I kind of let it go for a while but now I am 27 and I have nothing that was my Dad's that I can remember him by. So it would mean so much to me if I can get these guns because they were his. It looks like the best thing to do is do the bill of sale as a "just incase"....because I guess nothing really could stop her from saying these guns were stolen if for some reason she got mad at me down the road. So I need to cover my butt.

Thanks everyone for your advice and information.....its greatly appreciated.