NFA Gun Trust Lawyer Blog

April 20, 2012

Modernizing your M16: Starting With a Pre 86 Transferable Machine Gun

A few weeks ago I purchased a fully transferable M16. Many of our clients have asked me to post some pictures of what this gun is being built into. Almost every replaceable part has been upgraded to the latest modern version while still keeping it legally transferable as a Pre 86 Machine Gun.

One of the first things we did was to replace the stock with a high-tech anti recoil Israeli Stock.

Next build a modern upper with a Side charger much like you would see on a AK47 so that you do not have to take your eye off the scope to load a bullet.

April 19, 2012

Moving or Traveling to North Carolina With NFA Firearms

by David M. Goldman

We were recently contacted by someone who wanted to move their NFA firearms to NC from another state. After filling out the Form 20, they received a rejection notice stating that the form needed to state the following in block 5 to be in compliance with NC state requirements.

Block 5 should contain “In accordance with NC general statute 14-288.8 & 14-409”

So if you are planning on traveling to NC or moving there, it appears that you will need this language before the ATF will approve the permission to move or travel.

April 19, 2012

Law Review Article on Gun Trust and its Benefits

by David M. Goldman

Jessica B. Jackson has written a Law Review article in the Estate Planning and Community Property Law Journal titled “GET YOUR GUNS UP!… OR AT LEAST GET THEM IN A GUN TRUST!”

The article discusses the Second Amendment and what the right to possess a firearm really means. She then goes on to define general trust principles, the functions of a trust, and the rule against perpetuity. The history and evolution of gun legislation and the Gun Trust, its method and purpose. Problems of using generic trusts with the NFA and concludes with a call to arms to Put your Title II weapons in a Trust.

While we have been saying this for years and it is the reason we created the original Gun Trust it is nice to see others in the legal community begin to recognize the difference and purpose in firearms trusts. Our trust are now designed for all firearms and not just NFA firearms.

April 11, 2012

What if I Move Before ATF Approves My Form 4 or Form 1

by David M. Goldman

If you move within the same state there is generally not an issue other than being inconvenienced in returning to the gun store to pick up your item when the tax stamp is processed.

If you are moving to another state there are different situations. This discussion will talk about tax stamps involving a Gun Trust and not individual ownership.

1) if you move to a state where the item is not legal, a Gun Trust will not allow you to take that item across state lines.

April 9, 2012

Free Amendment to add the NRA as a Beneficiary of Your Gun Trust

by David M. Goldman

With the NRA Convention starting this week, April 12-15th, Gun Trust Lawyer® is happy to announce that any previous client who has had a Gun Trust drafted by us or one of our lawyers can receive a free amendment to allow them to add one of the NRA Endowments to their trust as an outright or contingent beneficiary.

As we have previously announced our new Gun Trusts all come with provisions that allow you to choose if and what you would like to leave to the NRA Endowment Fund of your choice. This amendment or addition to the standard trust allows you to leave any percentage of your trust assets to the NRA before making other beneficiary designations, any percentage of your trust assets to the NRA Endowment Fund of your choice if your beneficiaries do not survive the creators of the trust, or a list of specific items that you want to go to the NRA Charity of your choice.

This will make it easier for our clients to bring their Gun Trusts into compliance with their overall charitable giving goals.

March 27, 2012

Can I Purchase a Machine Gun with a Gun Trust?

by David M. Goldman

Yes, you can purchase a machine gun with a Gun Trust but you cannot purchase a new machine gun. (As long as it is purchase in a state where they are permitted) You may be wondering what the difference between and old machine gun and a new machine gun. As of May 1986 individuals, Trusts, and business entities can only purchase machine guns that were made and registered as transferable prior to May 19th of 1986.

A new M-16 can be purchased for $1200-1500, but can only be purchased by police or military, while a legally transferable pre 1986 Machine gun will cost you 10 times that amount.

So for those of you who are looking at a Gun Trust as a way to purchase an inexpensive machine gun, forget it. Not only is a machine gun expensive to buy, but its more expensive to feed. Many shoot 600-900 rounds per minute and the typical magazine will last a second or two.

March 26, 2012

is your Gun Trust Upgradable? Which Gun Trust is Right for Me?

by David M. Goldman

Many of us understand how addicting firearms are. When we purchased our first silencer, we had no idea how many we would eventually purchase and how quickly the value of our firearms collection would grow. As the average firearms collection of our clients has grown, we have come our with additional versions of our Gun Trusts for our clients. Because of our commitment to our clients and the firearms owners, we have allowed everyone to maintain their initial investment in their gun trust. The Gun Trusts Lawyers® that we work with will allow you to trade in your original Gun Trust for full credit towards our Asset Protection Gun Trust.

All of our Gun Trusts are designed for NFA firearms as well as regular firearms. As you know, many of the same issues in determining if your beneficiaries will be appropriate to receive your firearms after you die are the same for Title I or Title II firearms. When looking at the value of your firearms collection, be sure to consider the value of your entire collection. To help you decide which trust is appropriate we have put together some basic guidelines.

If you have less than $25,000 in firearms, the basic Gun Trust is probably the right choice. If you have between $25,000 and $50,000 in firearms you should consider the Asset Protection Gun Trust and if your collection is over $50,000 you should be using the Asset Protection Gun Trust.

March 15, 2012

Moving to North Carolina with NFA Firearms

by David M. Goldman

Recently we have seen the ATF deny ATF form 20’s unless you include “In accordance with North Carolina General Statute 14-288.8” in Block 5 – The Reason for Transportation of the Firearms – (Example Permanent change of Address)

While this should not apply to silencers, it will not hurt to include the additional language on all transfers of NFA firearms to the state of North Carolina

If you are moving or traveling to North Carolina you might include something like the following language in Block 5:

March 15, 2012

Silencers Are Legal Silencer Shoot in Dallas Texas April 28th

by David M. Goldman

Please come join us and the other Sponsors of the Silencer are Legal Shoot by Silencerco.

Saturday, April 28, 2012, 9:00 am – 6:00 pm 10751 Luna Road | Dallas, TX 75220 972-556-0164 www.elmfork.com

Tickets are $12

March 15, 2012

Do I Need to File a Tax Return for my Gun Trust

by David M. Goldman

If a Gun Trust Lawyer® provided your gun trust, it will not require a tax return. As stated in the instructions memorandum that comes with every NFA Gun Trust from a Gun Trust Lawyer®, the trust is a disregarded entity and any transactions that create a gain or loss pass though to the individuals. This does not mean that transactions that take place are not taxable but it would be treated the same as if you bought and sold items as an individual. This may be more complicated with a multi-settlor trust and you should discuss the specifics of this with your accountant or CPA to determine how to properly report the income on the individual settlors tax returns.

If you have another trust that was not prepared by a Gun Trust Lawyer®, you should ask an attorney or CPA about the taxable issues as while many trusts will be treated the same for tax purposes, your trust may be different and require a tax return or other federal or state documents to be filed.