Can I Let Others Use The NFA Weapons In My Trust?

For any NFA firearm, you can let other people use the trust as long as you are supervising them. The rule of thumb is to keep the firearm within your line of sight. For example, if you are shooting at a range, you can let your son shoot the firearm as long as you are standing there with him. But if you need a new target, you are sending him in to get it, not you. You cannot leave him alone with that firearm.

What If I Become Incapacitated?

The trust is designed to operate if you become incapacitated. If you have named another person as a current trustee, then that person can legally hold these items while you are incapacitated. If you have not named someone as a current trustee, then the trust designed by Willi Law Firm has a successor trustee provision that kicks in so that anyone named in that provision can step up to be a trustee and legally possess the firearms outside of your physical presence.

Who Can I Assign To Be A Beneficiary Of My Trust?

Anyone who is not a prohibited person can be a beneficiary of the trust. A prohibited person is defined in the trust and by statute. For example, if someone is a felon, they are a prohibited person. You can name minors as beneficiaries. The Willi Law Firm gun trust has a successor trustee provision that kicks in to allow an adult to hold the firearms until the minor beneficiaries are 25 years old.

Who Should Be The Trustee?

Initially, the person who owns the items will be the trustee. Keep in mind that this is a revocable living trust, so it owned by and under the control of the settlor. The settlor is also the trustee. You can appoint other people as trustees as needed. If, for example, a member of the military is deployed, he or she might want to appoint another family member, such as the father, as a co-trustee so that the NFA items can be stored at his house. Or, for example, if you want to go hunting with a friend in South Texas for the weekend, you can appoint that person as a trustee for that weekend, and make it expire a few days after the trip. Then that person can borrow your firearm and use it outside of your physical presence while he is hunting.

If I Already Own An NFA weapon That I Wish To Transfer Into The Trust, May I Transfer It Without Paying An Additional Transfer Tax?

If you want to transfer ownership of an NFA firearm, you must pay a tax, even if you transfer it from you, as an individual, to you, as a trust. There is no getting around he transfer tax to move it into a trust. As they say, there are two things certain in life – death and taxes.

For more information on Using NFA Weapons In A Gun Trust, a free initial consultation is your next best step. Get the information and legal answers you are seeking by calling (512) 288-3200 today.