NFA Guide: What you need to know about Class III firearms

Originally Posted by Tungsten

I'll be sure to avail myself of such technological wonders the next time I encounter a thread, provided I am able to think of the proper key words to isolate the information I'm searching for.

Always glad to be of assistance.

Originally Posted by Phantom6

IMOH, the Trust is the simplest and best way to go since anyone of the trustees can carry and use the firearm(s) named therein and you not only have to be present to supervise but you don't have to screw with all the CLEO, photo and fingerprint stuff. Much "cleaner" all the way around. You can add folks to the trust and remove folks from it and it doesn't affect your firearm.

I agree. I was thinking about that last night. I plan to go that route for that sole reason... so the wife can pick up and use the firearm whenever she needs/wants as well.

Has anyone seen a short list for creating a NFA Trust similar to the original post?

I would do an internet search now but this is one of two gun websites my employer has not blocked.

Originally Posted by MCFooter

Has anyone seen a short list for creating a NFA Trust similar to the original post?

I would do an internet search now but this is one of two gun websites my employer has not blocked.

I took the cheap route and used Quicken Willmaker software to draft my Revocable Trust naming both me and my wife as trustees and naming my children as beneficiaries should something horrible happen to the both of us. In the event that neither of them are 21 years of age, the NFA items go to an executor for safe keeping until they become of legal age.

Tennessee does not require that a Revocable Trust be registered with the court. So it is as simple as drafting the papers and signing them in the presence of a notary, then having the notary execute their duties and notarize the documents.

Hint: If you use Willmaker, export the document to a Rich Text File (RTF) and then bring it back into MS Word or similar software and edit it so that the name of the trust isn't just "Joe Blow's Revocable Trust" but rather "Joe Blow's NFA Revocable Trust" so that the document has a meaningful name that distinguishes it from any other trusts that you may establish later.

I simply searched for every instance of "Joe Blow and Jane Blow's Revocable Trust" in the document and replaced it with the NFA version as described above.

In order to activate the trust you should assign a piece of serialized real property to it. Some people take a single dollar bill, note the serial number of that dollar bill in the trust as the real property. Later property assignments are made by amending the document with the appropriate form.

I just added an old handgun of no practical value to our trust and established the trust in that fashion.

Hope that helps?

Tungsten, Thanks for the Quick and detailed response.

Your response seems simplier than I had thought it might be. My only (Main) question comes in with the definition of "Real Property" and your example of a Dollar. I was thinking "Real" property was land so I broke down and used the search function and found this...

http://www.answers.com/topic/real-property?cat=biz-fin


Law Dictionary: Real Property

Land, including the surface, whatever is attached to the surface such as buildings or trees, whatever is beneath the surface, such as minerals, and the area above the surface, i.e., the sky. Burby, Real Property §§8-11 (3rd ed. 1965). See fixture.
Originally, the distinction between real property and personal property did not depend upon the nature of the property, but rather depended upon the action by which rights in the property were vindicated. This distinction later evolved into the definition of real property as excluding personal property (which consists of chattels, or movable goods).
An interest in a leasehold is sometimes treated as real property because it concerns land or buildings, and is sometimes treated as personalty because of its contractual nature. See Brown, The Law of Personal Property 10-11 (3rd ed. 1975).


I hope you're correct and a Dollar bill will meet the requirement but courious if you have discussed this with a lawyer or anything?

Thanks,
Mike

If real property were only to be interpreted as land, then no one would be able to use a Revocable Trust to purchase NFA items. If you're particularly worried, I'd use something like a rifle or a handgun that you don't mind transferring into the ownership of the trust.

While i think the definition of real property is correct, I believe you can use a trust or a corporation to hold personal property as well. Its probably better if the property is serialized.

I do think you should give an attorney whatever it takes to make sure you are in compliance with state law.

I'm interested in this. Does anyone know a lawyer that does this or has done trusts for NFA items?

Alright so say you want to purchase an SBR'd AR from someone that paid the $200 stamp when they SBR'd it...whats the actual process?

You will need to file a Form 4 (see NFA Guide for specific steps) with ATF, wait for it to approved, and then take possession of the SBR


Added:
Regardless of the fact that the original owner paid tax on a NFA item, a new 200.00 tax will need to be paid each and every time the item is transfered.
*with a few exceptions; transfer to a lawful heir at time of death, to a LE dept, etc.

Joe,
Thanks for the quick info...is the form 4 pretty much the same thing I filed for the 870 AOW? Would we require an FFL to go through since the ATF has to send the "ok" back to somewhere?