Today I received an email from someone who was forming a trust to transfer assets from their father's estate. There were NFA items in the father's estate. The person's estate planning lawyer had advised them that it was OK to transfer NFA firearms to a trust using a general assignment of personal property. A general assignment of personal property is a standard form that transfers all personal property not requiring a deed or special documentation to a trust and is commonly used with a standard revocable living trust.

Unfortunately his lawyer must not have been familiar with the NFA because no one should ever do such a thing. This would be a violation of the National Firearms Act, and subject the individual to confiscation of all firearms, 10 years in jail for each violation, and up to a $250,000 penalty for each violation.

At this time of the year, we are often short of time and rushing to take care of things before the holidays. Before making a mistake with an NFA firearm, learn about them and the additional restrictions placed upon the use, possession, transfer, and purchase of them in your state and around the country.

If you are going to ask a lawyer about an issue involving the NFA, make sure they understand the NFA and what a Title II firearm and Class 3 SOT license are. We all know firearms can be dangerous in the hands of the uneducated, here is an example where the uninformed can cause you a problem.

To contact a NFA Firearms Attorney, just email us or call us and we will be glad to help.

The NFA defines who can own a Title II firearm as a natural person, corporation or trust.... When an individual makes application to own a Title II firearm they are the only person who can be in possession or have access to the firearm. This creates a problem for many individuals who are married, have others who know the combination or how to gain access to the items, or want to allow others to use the firearms, even in their presence.

Joshua Prince has written and excellent analysis of the case law surrounding constructive possession and the US v. Turnbough case which stated that the Government may establish constructive possession by demonstrating that the defendant exercised ownership, dominion or control over the premises in which the contraband is concealed. Joshua goes on the state that if a spouse or other person does have the combination to the safe where the NFA firearms are kept it would be virtually impossible for the prosecutor to show that the other individual knowingly has the power to exercise dominion and control over the firearms.

The real problem occurs when another does have access to the items or can exercise dominion and control over the NFA firearm because the prosecutor can then charge that individual with constructive possession. In US v. Turnbough, an illegal firearm was in Turnbough's home and the court of appeals found that a reasonable jury could have found that he, his live in girlfriend, and her child could conclude that all three parties exercised dominion and control over the gun and the possession could be either sole or joint.

While there are not any constructive possession cases involving NFA firearms this does not mean that the BATFE could not bring a charge of constructive possession against a spouse or other person who could exercise dominion and control over an NFA firearm.

Remember that there is no intent element to violate the NFA. Like speeding, you do not have to intend to speed to be charged with speeding.

So how can you protect yourself, your family, and your friends? If you use a NFA trust or other allowable business entity to own the items, you can allow others to be in possession, use, purchase, and know how to access the firearms.

There are many downsides to using a business entity to own NFA firearms. In most states, there are yearly state fees associated with the entity. In addition, you must deal with loss of privacy, EIN's, and federal tax compliance for the entity. The ATF only recognizes those on the official state records as having access to the items. The entity will be subject to probate upon the death of any owner. There are typically costs associated with updating the state records to allow for changes in possession and it takes time to make these changes. There are no provisions in a business entity to deal with incapacity or death in determining whom the beneficiaries are, where they live, if they are qualified to receive the items, directions on how to properly transfer the ownership and items, and most importantly if the beneficiary is mature and responsible enough upon your death that you would want to put the firearms in their hands.

Because a trust deals with these items on a regular basis, a NFA Trust (different than the traditional Quicken, Legal Zoom, or lawyer prepared revocable trust) can provide the ability to easily add, remove, or modify the users, owners, and purchasers as well as deal with the unique issues of firearms ownership that are not present in other types of ownership.

We work with more than 75 lawyers in over 43 states that can help you design a NFA trust to meet your specific needs and goals. Our NFA trust does not use a schedule of assets so your other firearms that are placed in the trust do not become know to the ATF upon the purchase of a Title II firearm from a Class 3 dealer or individual.

If you have any question on how a NFA trust can help you purchase Title II firearms and protect your family and friends from the criminal penalties associated with improper possession, purchase, use, or transfers please contact a Gun Trust Lawyer and we would be happy to answer your questions. In Florida please contact our Florida Gun Trust Lawyer.

There are several type of Class 3 items that are restricted by the National Firearms Act.

Each state can impose additional restrictions on the sale, purchase, and transfer of class 3 firearms in addition to the compliance that is required with the national Firearms Act.

In New Jersey you can own the following items that are regulated the the National Firearms Act

Machine Guns *
Any Other Weapon (AOW)

In New Jersey you cannot own the following NFA restricted items.

Silencers
Short Barreled Shotguns (SBS)
Short Barreled Rifles (SBR)
Destructive Devices (DD)

Follow this link to find out more about New Jersey and NFA restrictions on Class 3 Firearms

* Machine guns - Onwership for persons is regulated under N.J.S. 2C:58-5
NOTE: In New Jersey, AOW's are limited

Many People have asked, How to fill out a form 4 when making class 3 purchases.  Because of this, we have added a page on this topic.  Please see

How to Fill out an ATF FORM 4 For NFA Class 3 Purchases

If you need help forming a trust, please Contact to find a Gun Trust Lawyer in Your State.

Violations of the NFA are punishable by 10 years in prison, forfeiture of all devices or firearms in violation, and the individuals right to own or possess additional firearms in the future.  In addition, there is a penalty of $10,000 for each of certain violations.

In addition, a willful attempt to evade or defeat a tax imposed by the National Firearms Act is also a felony which is punishable by up to 5 years in Jail and a $100,000 fine under the tax evasion statutes.  This penalty could be increased to $250,000 for individuals and $500,000 for corporations.

This means you could be looking at a maximum of 15 years in Jail and $510,000 in penalties for a violation.   Many violations can be avoided by proper ownership and knowing who can be in possession and use the Title 2 firearms which are restricted under the NFA.

There may be additional state penalties in addition to the federal one mentioned above.  A properly constructed NFA trust is the best way to own these items and permits the best flexibility as to possession and use.  Although a Revocable trust can provide benefits many individuals create invalid trusts or trusts that do not address the specific issues that relate to NFA weapons ownership and subject themselves to potential violations. 

To create a Valid NFA Firearms Trust that addresses your specific family situation, please CONTACT A NFA lawyer.

While the public perceives NFA weapons as dangerous Guncite.com reports that there have only been two murders since 1934 involving legally registered Machine Guns and one of those was by a police officer.

Generally when creating a NFA trust, one must look to the laws of their state and how they affect the right to own a class III firearm.

What happens if you live in New York or any state where some Class III firearms are banned but plan to use and keep them in another state where they are legal?  Can you a resident of a state where the item is banned purchase, store, and use the items in a state where its legal.

According to the ATF,  an individual can purchase an item restricted by the NFA that is not permitted in the state of residence of the trustee, when the trust will be located, and item will be only used and maintained in states where it is legal.

This means a NY resident can purchase a class III firearm in PA when it is under a PA trust and the firearm is kept and used in PA.

Some NFA firearms collectors, who are not engaged in any firearms business, have been known to acquire a GCA license to deal in firearms and pay the NFA special tax to acquire NFA firearms for their personal firearms collections. This is not a wise thing to do and violates the National Firearms Act.

Most individual acquire NFA firearms for the following reasons:

(1) to acquire firearms from nonlicensees residing out-of-state;
(2) to circumvent requirements imposed on individuals to provide their fingerprints and photographs in order to receive NFA firearms and law enforcement certifications authorizing their receipt of such firearms;
(3) to purchase and use items that they are not legally able to obtain as an individual; and
(4) to avoid NFA transfer tax on firearms they receive from FFL's/SOT's.

Warning: These transactions violate the NFA and can only lead to trouble for the individual. In these instances, the individual has committed Federal felonies by falsely stating on a license application and special tax return that the collector intends to conduct a firearms business. Any NFA firearms received tax free by the collector are subject to transfer tax and the collector's receipt of the firearms tax free violated the NFA. As held in ATF Ruling 76-22, these transfers are unlawful and the firearms received are subject to seizure and forfeiture.

If you hold NFA restricted firearms that are of a personal use in nature, under a business license, you should consider creating a NFA Firearms Trust to hold the title to these items to avoid being in violation of the National Firearms Act.

There are several type of Class 3 items that are restricted by the National Firearms Act.

Each state can impose additional restrictions on the sale, purchase, and transfer of class 3 firearms in addition to the compliance that is required with the national Firearms Act.

In California you can own the following items that are regulated the the National Firearms Act

Machine Guns 
Any Other Weapon (AOW) (except Pen Guns) *1
Destructive Devices (DD)
Short Barreled Shotguns (SBS)
Short Barreled Rifles (SBR)

In California you cannot own the following NFA restricted items.

Silencers
Pen Guns

*1 AOW's other than Pen Guns are ok as long as they are not an assault weapon.  With the exception of AOW assault weapons that were owned prior to the registrations period are ok.  AOW's are not required to receive a Curio or Relic classification.

Note In California most Class 3 items other than AOW's must be classified as a Curio or Relic  (C&R).

SBS and SBR, that are C&W  as well has AOW's as described above do not require any special state permits.

Permits for Machine guns and DD's are controlled and at the sole discretion of the DOJ and are rarely issued to civilians or anyone who is not involved in the movie industry.

CA's Assault weapons laws apply to assault weapons whether they are C&R or not.  An assault weapon in Ca if meets certain requirements found in the statutes. One of these is  semi automatic center-fire rifle with  the capacity to accept a detachable magazine that has an overall length of less than 30 inches is an AW.  This would mean if you made (through a form 1) a SBR out of an M1 Cabine, it would likely be considered an AW under California law.

Follow this link to find out more about California and NFA restrictions on Class 3 Firearms

Constructive possession is a legal fiction to describe a situation where an individual has actual control over property without actually having physical control of the same assets. At law, a person with constructive possession stands in the same legal position as a person with actual possession.

When an individual purchases a class 3 firearm, they are the only one who is able to be in possession of the item. They have a duty to safeguard the use and possession of the restricted firearm from all others.

This includes their friends, spouse, children, or anyone else.  Generally the individual accomplishes this by placing the restricted class 3 firearms in a gun safe.

What happens if their spouse or someone else knows the combination to the gun safe?  That person is in Constructive possession of the item.  In addition, the rightful owner, is in violation of improperly transferring the item to the other.  Both people can face criminal penalties which include jail time, monetary fines, and confiscation and destruction of the items.

How Do I Protect Myself From Constructive Possession?  One way is to make sure that no one ever has the combination to your gun safe, or has access to the items.  You should not let other people use, handle, or have the ability to be in possession of the items.

Another way is to provide the ability for others to be in constructive possession. This can be done using a business entity such as a corporation, LLC, or NFA Gun Trust.  The trust can be written in such a way as to allow another or several individuals to be in possession of the items.

This may sound simple, and generally it is, but there are many things that need to be discussed prior to including someone as a co-trustee on a Gun trust.  A few of the issues include:

You should Contact  and discuss the concept of Constructive possession with a Gun Trust Lawyer before creating or modifying NFA Gun Trust.

There are several type of Class 3 items that are restricted by the National Firearms Act.

Each state can impose additional restrictions on the sale, purchase, and transfer of class 3 firearms in addition to the compliance that is required with the national Firearms Act.

In Arkansas you can own the following items that are regulated the the National Firearms Act

Machine Guns
Silencers
Any Other Weapon (AOW)
Destructive Devices (DD)
Short Barreled Shotguns (SBS)
Short Barreled Rifles (SBR)

In Arkansas you cannot own the following NFA restricted items.

None

Follow this link to find out more about Arkansas and NFA restrictions on Class 3 Firearms

There are several type of Class 3 items that are restricted by the National Firearms Act.

Each state can impose additional restrictions on the sale, purchase, and transfer of class 3 firearms in addition to the compliance that is required with the national Firearms Act.

In Missouri you can own the following items that are regulated the the National Firearms Act

Machine Guns
Short Barreled Shotguns (SBS)
Short Barreled Rifles (SBR)
Any Other Weapon (AOW)

In Missouri you cannot own the following NFA restricted items.

Silencers
Destructive Devices (DD)

Follow this link to find out more about Missouri and NFA restrictions on Class 3 Firearms

There are several type of Title II firearms that require a Class 3 license to be transferred or manufactured under the the National Firearms Act.

Each state can impose additional restrictions on the sale, purchase, and transfer of class 3 firearms in addition to the compliance that is required with the national Firearms Act.

In Minnesota you can own the following items that are regulated the the National Firearms Act

Machine Guns **   (C&R only)
Short Barreled Shotguns (SBS) **  (C&R only)
Short Barreled Rifles (SBR)
Any Other Weapon (AOW)
Some Destructive Devices (DD)

In Minnesota you cannot own the following NFA restricted items.

Silencers
Some Destructive Devices (DD)

Note: In Minnesota you can only purchase Machine Guns or Short Barreled Shotgun that are Curios and Relics (See:  Minnesota Statutes 609.67 MACHINE GUNS AND
SHORT-BARRELED SHOTGUNS)

Follow this link to find out more about Minnesota and NFA restrictions on Class 3 Firearms

We have associations with lawyers and attorneys in Pennsylvania.  These Pennsylvania Gun Trust Lawyers can provide NFA gun Trusts for the entire state of Pennsylvania.  A NFA Gun Trust can help protect individuals and their families from the criminal and civil penalties associated with the improper transfer or possession of a class 3 firearm regulated under the National Firearms Act.  In addition, the process of purchasing a silencer, SBR, or machine gun can be significantly reduced in the amount of time required and paperwork that is required.

They have offices in

• Allentown Pennsylvania;
• Bechtelsville Pennsylvania;
• Camp Hill Pennsylvania;
• Exton Pennsylvania;
• Pottstown Pennsylvania;
• Lancaster Pennsylvania;
• Lebanon Pennsylvania;
• North Wales Pennsylvania;
  
• Pottstown Pennsylvania; and
  
• Reading Pennsylvania

If you are located in another area of Pennsylvania they can also provide services by email and telephone in much the same way as if you were in their office.

To contact a Pennsylvania Gun trust lawyer fill our our Contact form.