NFA Gun Trust Lawyer Blog
While there is no actual Assault Weapon Ban, we are being asked many questions about regular firearms and the benefits of a Gun Trust. As laws may change or what is proposed may be different from what actually happens, the answers below be reviewed with your local Gun Trust Lawyer® and we should all re-evaluate the situation when things become more certain.
Should I put my regular firearms in a Gun Trust?
Yes all firearms, accessories, and magazines should be put in a Gun Trust and the sooner you do it the more flexible your choices will be. A risk is that future transfers of certain guns (sounds like most guns) will be prohibited. If this happens you will not be able to transfer them to a Gun Trust. In addition, there are many other reasons why you should have your regular firearms in a Gun Trust See this article on putting Title I firearms in a NFA or Gun Trust.
How do I transfer my firearms into a NFA or Gun Trust?
While all of our Gun Trusts are designed for all firearms, many so-called Gun Trusts are not properly structured to deal with regular firearms and some not even NFA Firearms so this advice is for those who are using our Gun Trusts. The procedure and ability to transfer regular firearms will vary by state and location of the firearms. Generally it is the same procedure as how you would give or sell a gun to a friend. In most states nothing more than our assignment sheet is necessary to assign the firearms or accessories from yourself to the Gun Trust. In some states a dealer must be involved for firearm transfers and in others there are specific forms that may or may not allow for the transfer of the firearms to the trust. In general, if your state allows transfer of firearms to trusts, it should be done. If you live in one state, but the firearms are in another state, a trustee in that state may transfer the firearms into the trust.
Will the ATF know about my Title I firearms if I form a Gun Trust?
Not with our Gun Trust – Look for the GunTrustLawyer® and our Copyright notices to know if you have our Gun Trust.
Many traditional trusts and some so-called Gun Trusts or NFA Trusts use a Schedule A and/or Schedule B to list the assets or guns held by the trust. When you submit a Form 1 or Form 4 to the ATF they require a full copy of your trust along with amendments and schedules that are referenced in the documents. Our Trust does not reference a Schedule A or Schedule B and as such none is required to be submitted for approval with the ATF.
A trust which is designed for firearms should be be able to deal with all of your firearms without the risk of creating a de facto registration of your firearms. Some trusts use both a Schedule A and B in an attempt to intentionally deceive the ATF. This is not recommended as the ATF has changed their position several times on what is acceptable when submitting a trust and could start requiring any Schedules used with the trust. This could lead to a necessity to submit all of your firearms to the ATF with the next purchase.
Our Gun Trust has a different design to protect the privacy of the items that are held by the Gun Trust and only disclose the firearms that the ATF will have knowledge of anyway.
Can I Upgrade my Gun Trust to a Multi Generational Gun Trust to protect my firearms from loss upon my death?
We do allow any previous clients to upgrade their Gun Trust and not lose their initial investment in the Gun Trust. Changing your Gun Trust to a Multi Generational Gun Trust can insulate your regular firearms form future legislative changes that might have your forfeit your firearms upon your death. Many people have substantially larger firearms collections with their Title I firearms than their Tittle II firearms. For those families it may be wise to investigate upgrading your Trust to a Multi Generational Asset Protection Gun Trust. This can be done by drafting a new trust that replaces your existing trust. All you need to do is sign the new documents and simply swap your papers and you will now have all the new benefits of the most advanced gun trust available. Our Professional Gun Trust not only provides for multi generational ownership but also provides asset protection and other document for ease of management in creating and removing an unlimited number of authorized users.