I am active duty military.  Although I'm an Oregon resident, I am currently stationed in Alabama.  Can I set up a trust while stationed in Alabama that will still be vaild when I move back to Oregon?

Also, if I set up the trust here what are the legalities involved with having my father included in the trust so that I can store NFA goodies at his house in Oregon if I get stationed overseas or in a state that is non-NFA friendly?  Ideally I'd like to set it up so that he'd still be able to use them instead of just having them locked in a safe that only I have a key to.

Thanks!

I don't have the exact answer, but honestly the only person who does is probably some gun lawyer who charges by the hour.

I'm USAF active duty. I'm making a trust.

Problem with having a trust that covers people in "another" state, is that you can't just take it there simply because it's on the Form 1. You still need to notify the ATF with the 5352.2 or whatever the form number is (I made that number up).

So, adding your dad to the trust woudl work, but you would still need to notify the ATF when you take it there to store.

The other side of this, is that you could take it to your dad's ANYWAY without him being on the trust. You would just need to secure it in a manner where he has no "access" to the item and cause a illegal "transfer". Throw it in a locked box, and put it in his attic - your done....as far as I understand it. Don't forget to notify the ATF first.

So the only real reason to have your Dad on the trust is if you want HIM to be able to USE the NFA stuff you store at his place while your gone.

That's the big thing I'm shooting for.  I just don't know too much about trusts.  More specifically, I don't know if a trust that I set up here in Alabama is valid in Oregon if the other person named in the trust lives in the state Oregon.

I'm not going to be moving my NFA stuff often, so I'm not overly concerned with the extra hassle of notifying the BATFE when suppressors are physically moved to another state (I'll jump through that paperwork hoop when I get to it).

Hmm...that's a good point about the trust being "valid" covering multiple states...

I do know this - the trust "system" is designed so that any trust from around the country is VALID everywhere else, but if a Alabama trust is executed in Oregon , it would still follow Alabama's laws.

I.e. whereever you make the trust, that is what determines the rules.

I would assume that if you add your pop as a trustee, his state really doesn't make a difference, since he has to "follow" Alabama's rules..



BUT THEN AGAIn - you might be able to make a OREGON trust since you are a resident of that state (as far as the military is concerned). But I have heard some people say the BATF doesn't give a crap about "home of record" or anything like that, and all they care about is where you live when you make the NFA item.

Duly noted.  Thanks for the input!

Not really sure but...

Make you dad's address the address of the trust.  So, get an Oregan trust.  Then, I guess you should fill out an annual form for whatever items you want to keep with you in AL.  Basically, wherever you are stationed where you can have your NFA items, you fill out the form for notification of travel.  

I don't think that you can move the trust to another state.  You would have to make another one.  That would then include paying the tax to transfer from one trust to the other.  That's not to say that you have can't just use your state X trust as a resident of state Y, but if you are going to live it Oregon ultimately, it seems like it would be better to do it that way.

After doing some research, a fair number of people seem to think that a simple quicken trust will work for one person but if the trust is going to involve more than one person and/or get any extra complicated you really need to have a lawyer draw it up.

My question is this: if I do a simple quicken trust with just me in it (to save money now) is it possible down the road to have it amended to add in my father?  Can a trust be edited/changed once it's created?

Having a trust cover multiple states (trustee's live in different states) is a completly different issue than MOVING with a trust into a new state. I'm active air force, and I gave up on the trust issues and all the "guessing". I just got the CLEO signoff..

If that's not possible, then when you move you MUST have the trust either reviewed or REDONE for validity. For example, if you were to move to louisiana with a quicken trust ( I live here in LA), then your trust would become invalid to Louisiana law. Yes, it would stay valid in your "old" state (lets say alabama for example), but that is of no consequence since you become a ATF resident. Yes, i've asked the ATF about "residency" and military, and as far as THEY are concerned, you are a resident of the state at which you have your address & sleep at.

Just as an example, quicken trusts are invalid in LA because they usually don't have witnesses. You have to have 2 witnesses here or the trust is invalid. This is just an example to show you that things are different everywhere you go. I personalyl would make a new trust with quicken using the template for your new state.

To answer your questions, a trust can be designed to be moved, but Quicken is not designed for such (in many instances, as I have recounted before, Quicken doesn't even make a valid trust in your home state). However, prior to moving, you have to ensure that your trust will be valid in the new state and then make a determination, assuming your trust is properly drafted, as to which state's laws you want to control (AKA former or current state). Also, regarding your question about changing the trust, as long as it is a revocable trust, you can amend it at any time. HOWEVER, if the trust isn't valid from the start and you place NFA items into it, you risk forfeiture of the items, as well as, unlawful transfer of a NFA firearm, because you have transferred it to a non-entity.