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As part of our overall estate planning, I would like to add a firearm trust which seems to make getting a Class III stamp easier and faster. Has anyone done this and how did it work? were you able to do it yourself with some of the estate planning software out there or did you need an attorney? How about legal Zoom?
Why would you put them on paper?
I have 3 children and 4 Grand children. While I am not planning on checking out yet the firearms have been settled long ago. And it is not a part of our will .
Once I am dead every bit of paper work the may or may not have followed these fire arms goes with me in the ground or the fire but they will no longer have a trail of any kind.
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I would like to add a firearm trust which seems to make getting a Class III stamp easier and faster.
If the guns and any NFA items are in a trust, they pass to the surviving named persons in the trust without any more taxes or paperwork. It (the trust) also eliminates the signature requirement of your chief LEO from the ATF application.Quote:
Why would you put them on paper?
What do you think of this idea...
Say someone has a grandchild age 13 and they are age 69. Grandpa signs over ownership of all his firearms to the grandchild now however grandpa "maintains and holds" such firearms. Then when grandpa goes to the big gun range(with the endless supply of ammo) in the sky there are no weapons to deal with hence no government paperwork.
I believe the OP is referring to class 3 Items such as SBR's Suppressors,and transferable machine guns.So anybody claiming they ain't leaving a paper trail might work with standard fireaerms,but not with class 3 stuff since the government has the paperwork,what a trust does is allow anybody on the trust to possess any of the class 3 items,if somebody dies they don't have to go thru the BS of getting a CLO to sign off on the Form 4 to purchase the class 3 item and pay another tax stampQuote:
Originally Posted by Smitty901
IMO, if you want a Class 3 item, a Trust is the way to go. Talk to a lawyer who does them regularly.
Another vote for the trust.
Its easier and quicker for the NFA items. For one, you dont have to get fingerprints or a CLEO signoff, you dont need a photograph, you just fill out the front of the Form 4 and send it.
You still have to pay the 200 tax stamp, but as already mentioned, anyone that is listed on the trust can legally possess that item,otherwise only the owner of the NFA item could possess it. One could shoot it as long as the NFA owner was there, but it must be under immediate control of the owner.
The Trust eliminates this. You could list your kids, friends,cousins, uncles,ex girlfriends, aunts or whoever you wanted on the trust and they could legally possess that item. They could shoot it, tote it, stash it, do whatever they wanted to with it as long as it was listed and "owned" by the trust.
Most lawyers in this area charge anywere from 300-600 bucks for a Trust. If you are going to get into the the NFA world, in my opinion it is the best way to do it. The ATF has had some issues with online Trust Programs,so just to be safe, I'd choose a lawyer to make sure all of my bases are covered.
Thanks, I was leaning lawyer and just incorporate a NFA trust into our larger estate planning process.
With all the bans going on in various states, it might not be bad to have more than just your NFAs on your trust. I also have a trust as the beneficiary to my insurance so if I die my ex can't get ahold of my money. My lawyer did mine, but he mostly works for gusmithing and guns in trade so I'm not sure what the actual dollar cost is. I know my upcoming custody fight with my ex is going to cost about a PMR30 and a Huntertown can.
Hrm... I used Quicken WillMaker to set up mine and the ATF signed off on it and sent the stamp.
As an aside, I am going to set up a Trust to hold all of my guns, ammo and prohibited magazines, now that Colorado has become a $%^)(*&^%!@# Damnorat mess. As long as you're doing the estate planning, it'd be easy to incorporate.