I have an NFA trust, and I was thinking about adding my pistols and maybe rifles to it. Is this possible/a good idea in Michigan?

Section 28.422a


I want the protection that the trust gives to the property of the family vs. the relying on the legal status of the individual.

I have a random shotgun in my trust just as a placeholder, no big deal.  You're the grantor of the trust, add or remove whatever you want.

May any trustee then possess the pistol even if he or she does not have a CPL but is not otherwise prohibited?

No. Under current MI law the trustee can only borrow a handgun if they have a valid CPL. Once you have expired the trustees will have to obtain "Pistol Purchase Permits" and have the handguns transferred individually as provided for in your estate.

I have all of my firearms listed in my trust, in fact I have two trusts, one that deals solely with my firearms and another that deals separately with my remaining estate. I have two family members that are anti-gun and two that love them. The ones that love them will be getting the guns split between them. The other trust splits the remaining items in my estate equally to all my family members. The anti-gun members just lost a lot of equity based solely on their political beliefs.

My wife's grandmother had firearms at her death, and the distribution of those assets was so lopsided (amongst her sons and daughters), one family member basically broke into the house and stole them, that I want to make sure that my immediate family retains possession of our items. Basically, a lot of crazy stuff can happen when family members die, and with firearms having a special legal status and requirements compared to other inanimate objects, it seems like a trust is a much better instrument to use rather than a will.

Anyway, I guess to get into the weeds of this procedure, regarding the RI-060 Pistol Sales Record: I use the name of my trust as Purchaser and also my credentials (CPL) since I'm the grantor of the trust? Or do I have to treat the trust as the Purchaser, but no CPL # because it can be considered a "person" with none of those credentials?

I know I will probably get the "right" answer from a lawyer, but before I go that route, just wondering if anyone has already gone that route and got the answers already. If so, when? I know that information can have a shelf life when it comes to firearms because these laws keep getting written and rewritten.

t's my understanding you must purchase the handgun under your personal name, the same as everyone else. Whether you ad the firearm to your trust is up to you. You still own the firearm and have the right to sell it at any time, but when you pass, the firearm remains part of your estate and is distributed to your heirs accordingly.

I don't believe you can purchase a handgun using your trust's name.