Up front, its not me, but I'm hoping to be on the receiving end of this deal.

Say someone that owns a MG is charged with a felony and is prohibited from owning or even having it in their possession. Who holds the MG while the paperwork goes thru? The attorney has possession right now, is that legal? Could I get away with one transfer right to me, or does it have to go thru a dealer which would mean two taxes and wait times.

The owner of the MG is not prohibited from owning it, only from receiving it or possessing it. The MG can be held by someone authorized to do so (i.e. SOT, likely for a fee) on their behalf while this works out or the SOT can facilitate the transfer if you are within the same state. Unless the attorney is an FFL or on the trust it's probably not legal for him to be in possession of the MG. If the individual involved is the only one authorized to possess the item then you'll probably need to get the ATF involved.

I AM NOT A LAWYER, THIS IS MY OPINION.

Your STATE LAW May well have much more restrictive laws if it is anti-gun. However, in Texas the following is my opinion on this series of questions.

Being charged is not the deciding factor.  You must be found GUILTY or convicted before you loose your right to retain firearms title 2 or 1. Their classification I don't think is relevant. So it does not matter at this point.  The person charged or even under indictment is not prohibited from owning firearms in any case. Unless there is a COURT ORDERED prohibition of some sort such as a restraining or protective order or other legally ordered court order regarding firearms.  The person could not BUY a firearm legally, however if under indictment or charged as this is on the 4473.

I don't believe the lawyer can legally have possession of a machinegun unless it was transferred to him.  An NFA dealer could retain it while a transfer is in process however because of the NFA related FFL they possess.  I don't think this is a legal act for the lawyer to do as you have described and they are probably in violation of Federal and State Law.  The machinegun in my opinion should be returned to the owner and an NFA Dealer take possession of it and the paperwork for transfer started if the person charged is concerned about it.  Remember NFA documents can take a year to process.

In-state transfers of NFA firearms do not require a dealer unless your state has made this process illegal under STATE LAW.

The lawyer involved should seek guidance from the ATF to avoid having this mg seized .

I would buy a gun safe let the seller set the combo so you dont know it have the safe at your home.

Felon has no access your doors are locked. You have no access due to not knowing the safe combo.

you milage may vary I am in no way a NFA expert.

Felony charges are not a prohibitor. Only a conviction. So person can keep it unless it is a state issue.

If conviction, well person should have seen this as a possible outcome and planned for it before being convicted. Attorney cannot possess, what ATF will do when they find out will vary. This is where trust or corp ownership can really help. Safest place is to have a FFL take possession of it for legal purposes.

If you are in-same-state, it is F4 direct to you.

If you want it seized, this is how you get it seized.

Ok, let me clarify. He was found guilty and is not allowed to have it in his possession to my knowledge.

ETA: Thread title changed to reflect this info.

The lawyer is not legally able to have possession of it unless a court and or the ATF has deemed it legal.

The machinegun needs to go to an NFA FFL dealer while it is transferred to someone legally, whoever that will be.

Wrong.  A lawyer asking the ATF for legal guidance does not mean seizure.

If he happens to explain to the ATF that he is the recipient of an illegal firearms transfer and oh, can they please come by and tell him what to do with this incriminating evidence, then yeah, it could mean all that and more.

Hence why the lawyer doing the asking has to be virgin.

Any FFL can take the gun in as "gunsmithing" (cleaning, LTI, etc), no SOT required.

The now-felon can arrange to have the gun sold, and he may want to enter into a brokering agreement with an FFL to do that, it's common for Title II firearms where the owner doesn't want to or can't deal with the nuts and bolts of selling the firearm.

Sure, but a non-SOT can't transfer it to a new owner, which is a little short sighted since the owner ain't never getting it back.

Also while an individual under indictment for a felony is not (yet) a prohibited person, they cannot successfully complete a 4473 and receive a firearm, even if they own it.

Neither can an SOT. Only the actual owner can do this.

IIRC SC ruled about 18 months ago that conviction does not forbid ownership(just possession, touching, and shooting, lol) so some guy with a large collection was able to have a FFL go to his house and open the safe and leave with them to sell.

You assume  he will say come by and tell me vs just using the telephone.

Can't help but post. Lawyers are by and large smart individuals, and capable of asking questions in such ways as to not implicate themselves. That or they have a partner at their firm ask the question for them and then they aren't implicating themselves. I'd bet that going after lawyers who call asking how to follow the law aren't high on the list of people to arrest, and if not I'd love to see the hearing on that one, still it's important to approach such matters with the right amount of care.

Lol ya...
I wouldn't be calling the feds

Sorry i didnt post on this earlier.

I have an SOT and had somebody that approached us about buying 2 suppressors from somebody that just plead guilty to a felony and had 10 days to turn himself into prison. After several calls to the NFA branch i was told to submit the Form 4s from the felon to be and my SOT.  In addition i was to submit a letter to the local branch contact that i was in possession of the items while waiting for the Form 4's to clear. Hope this helps you and yes it was simple and didnt need a lawyer for it.