NFA Gun Trust Lawyer Blog
One of the most common questions we receive is about naming your Gun Trust. Based on our experience and the problems people have encountered over the names they have chosen, here is our advice.
- If possible do not include the words NFA, Gun, Firearms, or Weapons in the name of your trust.
- Keep the Gun Trust name short as you are not allowed to engrave abbreviations should you ever decided to build using an ATF Form 1.
- Keep the Gun Trust name simple and easy to identity with you so that you do not have to keep a copy of the trust and the Tax stamp in your possession. Basically you want to make it easy for law enforcement to determine that you are rightfully in possession of the item without having to take you into possession.
- Pick a name that allows you to modify the type of trust without creating confusion over what type of trust it is. In other words do not use unnecessary words like “revocable” “irrevocable” or “living trust” in the name
We usually recommend your last name and the word trust as your Gun Trust name. This will not prevent you from opening bank accounts and it also should keep you from spending the night in jail if you are ever stopped by someone who does not understand that these items are legal. Your documents should be designed to demonstrate that you are legally in possession. This is very easy with if your name matches the trust, drivers license and tax stamp.
Allow for flexibility in the trust by not locking you into something specific or misleading with unnecessary words.
Keep the name short so it is easy to engrave and most importantly remember that your trust may be used by different people in different states over many years so it is important to follow rules that work in multiple states. You may only get the chance to create one Gun Trust, it needs to be done right and you need to feel comfortable that your trust is supported in multiple states.