NFA Gun Trust Lawyer BlogIf you send the certificate of Trust your application will be denied. You must send the full Firearms Trust with the Form 4
Articles Posted in FAQ’s
NFA Gun Trust and Fees.
There are no yearly state or federal filing fees associated with a NFA trust. We recommend opening a bank account at a bank that has no fees to keep the costs lower. If the Trustee and the Beneficiary are different people the trusts require an annual Accounting. – A listing of the assets and their values
How do I Purchase More Class III Firearms with My Trust
You may use your NFA Firearms/Gun Trust to purchase items in the future. Assuming you are in a state that allows the purchase of the items you desire, you may use your firearms trust to purchase additional items without creating a new trust.
You can purchase items this year, next year and in the future with a NFA trust as there are no limits to the number of items that the trust can contain or purchase.
Who will know about my NFA Firearms Trust
Only the ATF and those you choose to tell will know about your NFA Gun Trust. Like most revocable trusts they are not kept on file in most states so there is publicly available information on who created, manages, benefits from or what is contained in the trust.
What Needs to be sent in with my Form 4 to purchase a Class III Firearm?
When you fill out your form 4, a check for the fee, a copy of the full declaration of trust, and an assignment of the weapon should be sent in with the application.
What should I do if I am in possession of an Akins Accelerator?
What should I do if I am in possession of an Akins Accelerator?
You should immediately remove the spring from the Akins Accelerator. This spring should be mailed (with the certification described below) to the Chief, Firearms Technology Branch, 244 Needy Road, Martinsburg, WV 25405. You should be sure to include your name and address with the spring so that ATF can account for all the devices which have been sold. The following certification should be completed, signed, and returned with the spring.
Certification
Lost of Stolen NFA Registration Documents
I got a question from someone to day about what to do if their Class 3 registration papers are lost. I found the answer on the ATF website under the NFA Handbook in Chapter 3.
Section 3.5 Lost or stolen registration documents. A person possessing a firearm registered as required by the NFA must retain proof of registration, that is, the registration form showing registration of the firearm to the person, which must be made available to ATF upon request.53 If a registrant discovers that a Form 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6A, or 10 is stolen, lost or destroyed, the registrant must immediately report the theft, loss, or destruction in writing to the NFA Branch.54 The report must contain the details of the situation. ATF will issue a duplicate copy of the registration document as the circumstances warrant.
If you need to contact a local ATF field office follow this link for the AFT field division contact information.
Owning NFA Firearms with a Dealer’s license
Some NFA firearms collectors, who are not engaged in any firearms business, have been known to acquire a GCA license to deal in firearms and pay the NFA special tax to acquire NFA firearms for their personal firearms collections. This is not a wise thing to do and violates the National Firearms Act.
Most individual acquire NFA firearms for the following reasons:
(1) to acquire firearms from non-licensee residing out-of-state;
(2) to circumvent requirements imposed on individuals to provide their fingerprints and photographs in order to receive NFA firearms and law enforcement certifications authorizing their receipt of such firearms;
(3) to purchase and use items that they are not legally able to obtain as an individual; and
(4) to avoid NFA transfer tax on firearms they receive from FFL’s/SOT’s.
Warning: These transactions violate the NFA and can only lead to trouble for the individual. In these instances, the individual has committed Federal felonies by falsely stating on a license application and special tax return that the collector intends to conduct a firearms business. Any NFA firearms received tax free by the collector are subject to transfer tax and the collector’s receipt of the firearms tax free violated the NFA. As held in ATF Ruling 76-22, these transfers are unlawful and the firearms received are subject to seizure and forfeiture.
If you hold NFA restricted firearms that are of a personal use in nature, under a business license, you should consider creating a NFA Firearms Trust to hold the title to these items to avoid being in violation of the National Firearms Act.
Constructive Possession of Class 3 Firearms
Constructive possession is a legal fiction to describe a situation where an individual has actual control over property without actually having physical control of the same assets. At law, a person with constructive possession stands in the same legal position as a person with actual possession.
When an individual purchases a class 3 firearm, they are the only one who is able to be in possession of the item. They have a duty to safeguard the use and possession of the restricted firearm from all others.
This includes their friends, spouse, children, or anyone else. Generally the individual accomplishes this by placing the restricted class 3 firearms in a gun safe.
40 States have Constitutional Right to Bear Arms
Alabama: “That every citizen has a right to bear arms in defense of himself and the state.” Ala. Const. art. I, § 26.
Alaska: “A well-regulated militia being necessary to the security of a free state, the right of the people to keep and bear arms shall not be infringed.” Alaska Const. art. I, § 19.
Arizona: “The right of the individual citizen to bear arms in defense of himself or the State shall not be impaired, but nothing in this section shall be construed as authorizing individuals or corporations to organize, maintain, or employ an armed body of men.”