Armory Sponsor
Posted: 6/22/2006 2:27:17 PM EDT
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Okay . . . . I am trying to figure this whole death thing out when it comes to NFA and firearms in general. I have read all the post and my mind is now swirling. Here is my situation. I have an 8 week old son that I want to leave my firearms to, which include NFA items if I were to die. I understand there are two basic ways to do this, a trust and a LLC. For tax and general ease reasons I am leaning toward a revocable trust. (As I hope to be adding to the collection). Here is what I am thinking I need to do. Please tell me if this is correct or if I am way off base. I am looking for feedback from people who have experience in this area. I also have to do this within the next week, so time is of the utmost of importance. I have spoken with a lawyer but he was about clueless. Plus I do not necessarily want to drop hundreds of dollars getting this set up especially if I can do it myself. I create a trust with myself I fill out the Form 5’s listing the trust as entity the NFA items go to should I die. I keep the NFA items in my name on the Form 4's. In the trust, I have provisions (money) set aside for a safety deposit box to be paid for upon my death and until he is of age or in a position to own the items. I write in my will that upon my death the items (listed by serial number) go to the trust (in which my son is the benefactor) via Form 5’s (for the NFA) and that at such time the trust will start paying for a safety deposit box big enough to house the items. Is this correct? Some questions I have from my own post . . . -Can a trust “own” anything without a -Can a trust have more than two trustees? -If say a friend was the 3rd trustee, what legal recourse would my son have if the friend where to sell the items before he was of age? -Could an institution such as a bank be a trustee/executor? Would they do this for firearms? -Would it just be better to go ahead and create the trust, transfer the items in and be done with it? -How would a trust be moved with NFA items in it? I am looking at moving within the next 8 months, but need to get this set up immediately for my current location. Thank you very much. ETA: another question ETA: Corrects and a bit more info. |
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Sounds wrong to me. Your son can't be a trustee if he is the benefactor. The trust owns the assets,not you. It can't be the benefactor. Mine is setup with my wife and I as trustees. When we are both dead the trust uses form 5s to transfer tax free to the two children. Did you read the trust thread at the top? All of this is in there. CP |
Yep... that's the problem with the tacked thread. Darn good idea, though. My issue with trusts is that they evaporate upon the death of the grantor, and I haven't seen multi-generational transfer addressed in a way that I can understand. With a Trust, getting things from one generation to the next one time seems very easy. After that, it seems to get more complicated unless you can alter the trustees and benefactors after the grantor's death without re-filing paperwork with the State and Feds... I.E. I can't see a way to make it last beyond the Grantor's death, even if the benefactor was changed to a great-grandchild during the grantor's lifetime. Somebody has to pay the piper eventually, if you want to keep it in the family. With a corp, you can just change owners and officers, the downside being filing paperwork every year. |
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I think you folks are limiting yourselves too much. Trusts are for anything wou don't want going through a will and probate. None of it will ever be seen in court or be in public records. My wife and my trust is not limted to the trust's NFA items. It has real estate, stock certificates, bonds, gold, two midyear bigblock Corvettes. There are also about 120 class 1 firearms and some rental and mineral rights. Hell, our home is even in it. So what if the beneficiarys decide to form a trust and have to pay $10,000 in tax stamps to transfer into it. That is minor if you use the trust properly loaded and managed. CP |
Oh believe me I plan to put other items in the trust also. I have read that there are tax advantages of trust over traditional wills. I haven't had time to read up on exactly what those advantages are, but it is on the list of things to do. |
Yes
I personally haven't seen more than two.
Upon your death a Revokable Living Trust can become an Irrevokable Living Trust. Therefore he can't change a thing (including selling).
Yes.
That's up to them, but I thiink you should find the most trusted person you know and make them the Successor Trustee.
Theoretically. Whatever is in the Trust will avoid Probate costs but you still have to pay $200 per NFA to transfer them.
No different than if an NFA item was personally owned.
My pleasure  |
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millsusaf, with all due respect ... Your son is eight weeks old, and you need to create a legal entity which will still be viable decades from now. It is also something that if (God forbid!) it turns out you do need, you won't be around to help your son sort out any problems with its legality. So I would strongly urge you to pay the coupla hundred bucks to have an attorney who is experienced in trusts set this one up, and have him make it as bulletproof as he possibly can. |
| I've got two cans in the middle of a transfer at this time. Once everything clears, I'll write up the process and confirm / deny if my transfer (NFA Only Trust) get approved. Hopefully we can tack a full list of questions and answers so one doesn't have to scroll through 10 pages. |
Armory Sponsor