Articles Posted in FAQ’s

In Missouri, you have previously needed to be an FFL to purchase Title II firearms from a Class 3 dealer. This may change soon as a new bill which is proposed to be effective on 8/28/11 would remove the FFL restriction. This means, you could use a Gun Trust to purchase NFA firearms. To read the bill follow this link.

guns.jpgWhile most trusts provide for educational activities, very few Successor Trustees or attorneys would consider firearms training, education, or firearms related activities under the educational provisions of a trust. At the same time, you would not typically want your firearms sold to provide these educational activities to your children or beneficiaries.

Most of us would agree that if we were to become incapacitated or pass away, our children might not be involved with firearms to the extent that we would like. When children are not involved with these activities or raised with firearms they tend to be afraid of them and can be easily influenced by the anti gun propaganda that we encounter on a daily basis. It is essential that there is a mechanism to provide for shooting activities, hunting experiences, and firearms training to allow our children to understand and appreciate their Second amendment rights and enjoy the use and possession of firearms.

You should speak with your Gun Trust Lawyer® about how to integrate your objectives into your current or a future estate plan so that it will complement your Gun Trust. Our trust already has the framework to allow for these activities and only simple change need to be made to your will or Revocable Trust to complement the Gun Trust that we provide.

antiquefirearm250x186-495.jpgOne of the basic foundations of a Trust or Gun Trust is that there must be a named beneficiary that exists at the time you create your trust. If there is not a named beneficiary that exists at the time the trust is created, the trust is invalid, and if the trust owns NFA firearms this could create large problems for those who are in possession of them. They are essentially in possession of an NFA firearm without a proper transfer. This is true, as many people are finding out, even if the ATF has approved the transfer to the trust on a Form 4 or Form 1.

Often people do not know whom to list as a beneficiary in their trust. While a normal trust or revocable trust does not deal with transfers to children or other prohibited persons correctly a properly drafted NFA Trust should look at where the items are, where they are going, the legality in each location, the proper method for completing the transfer, the eligibility of the beneficiary to posses the firearms (at the time they are to be transferred and not simply at the time the trust was created) as well as whether the individual is mature and responsible enough to have a machine gun or a regular firearm for that matter.

One must also evaluate the successor trustee to determine if they are eligible to complete the transfer or be in possession (under dominion and control) of a firearm. Many traditional trusts and other so called Gun Trusts do not deal with these issues properly. Firearms Trusts or Gun Trusts from the Gun Trust Lawyer® are designed from the ground up to deal with firearms and related activities.

machine-guns.jpgOne of the Gun Trust Lawyers® we work with in California has written an article on owning a Machine Gun in California which deals with the requirements and process that is involved.

Not only is there a special application for the California Permit but one needs to establish good cause that they have a clear and convincing reason and there is a bona fide market or public necessity for the issuance of the permit. Kevin goes through the 8 valid reasons defined in 11 CCR 4128(b). All of the reasons that would apply to an individual require that you have a valid FFL except for (4) collectors of destructive devices.

Unless you are a police department, branch of the government, in the entertainment industry you will need to come up with a clear and convincing commercial need for the machine gun permit.

We have a new version of our NFA Brochure available to download and review. if you are interested in finding out more about NFA Trusts download the new NFA_Gun_Trust_brochure.pdf.

We would appreciate any feedback on the document.

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When you are purchasing a silencer, SBR, SBS, Machine Gun, AOW, or DD from an out of state resident there are two ways of accomplishing the transfer.

The first and slower way is to do a Form 4 transfer to a local Class 3 SOT dealer. Once this is approved a tax free transfer can be made from that dealer to one in the purchaser’s state and then a second Form 4 transfer can be done from the buyer’s dealer to the buyer. This will involved 2 transfer fees and generally each dealer will charge a fee for the paperwork and transfer.

The second method involves transferring it directly on a Form 4 to the buyers Class 3 dealer who is located in the same state as the buyer. Once this is approved a second Form 4 transfer can take place from the dealer to the buyer. This will involve 2 transfer fees and fees from the single dealer. This method should be quicker since the dealer to dealer transfer is eliminated.

The 2011 edition contains over 90 changes from last year’s edition including:

2011-firearms-guide.jpg* 50 new sections detailing handgun carry in restaurants that serve alcohol * New section detailing carry in Semi-tractor trailers * Complete redraft of state pages making information even more “user friendly”

* Coverage of states that require permit holders to inform police officers of permit status

sbr-silencer.jpgIf you are purchasing a Firearm that was previously manufactured under a Form 1 it may contain the engraving of the previous owner. Since this item was previously manufactured, you will be using an ATF Form 4 and not an ATF Form 1 to transfer this item and as such it will require no engraving on your part.

We often get questions regarding the use of NFA Trusts in regards to legal challenges to show that they are permitted under the NFA.

While there are no successful challenges that stand for the positive or negative use of a NFA Trust, Trusts are not generally denied because the Federal statutes specifically authorizes the use of a trust for ownership of a item restricted by the NFA. There have been many applications with the ATF by people using other forms of Trusts that have been denied because the application or the trust was improper.

The more troubling issue with a Trust is that there are many invalid trusts that have been approved by the ATF. The reason this is problematic is that many individuals feel there possession and use of these firearms valid because ATF approved the transfer. They do not realize that the ATF’s approval is to a valid trust and while they may disapprove an obviously invalid trust, there is no requirement for the ATF to validate (nor do they validate) a trust.

How many of you have taken your silencer out to show to someone. Did you know that even if it is not attached to a gun, a silencer is defined by federal law as a firearm. Many states also define it as a dangerous weapon like a taser or a knife.

In Florida and many states that have concealed weapons permits, it is illegal to show someone a firearm or weapon under certain circumstances. With this in mind, you should be careful to comply with your states concealed weapons laws when showing people your silencer. Many people do not realize they are legal and because of this it is possible that you could be reported for having one and charged with a crime.

While we know of know one who has actually been charged with this offense and feel that the likelihood is small, it does not make the act legal and you should be cautious.

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