Articles Posted in FAQ’s

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We get many questions about filling out ATF forms with trusts. Here is a summary of the common forms that need to be filled out along with instructions on how to fill them out properly.

While most trusts do not have EIN numbers, the proper way of filling out the documents is to include your social security number as that is your TAX ID number. At this time, ATF does not seem to care whether you leave it blank, put N/A, or include your Tax ID number or an alternate EIN number. This may change.

Many people feel that they should not have to pay an additional tax stamp to transfer from themselves to their trust. using your SS number on both would seem to indicate that there is not a taxable transfer. The problem is one of economics. Generally no one wants to fight over the $200 tax stamp. Even if you have 10 or 20 NFA firearms, the cost of raising this issue would be far more than paying the tax.

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We often get questions dealing with the purchase of silencers in other states. You or a co-trustee must be a resident of the state in which you want to purchase the silencer. For example if you are a resident of a state that does not permit the ownership of silencers like New York, California, or New Jersey it is possible to purchase silencers in other states where they are legal. Unfortunately if you are a resident of a state where they are not legal will not be able to complete the transaction. If you have a co-trustee who is a resident of a state where they are legal the silencer can be purchased in that state by that co-trustee.

While it is permissible to add co-trustees in other states there should be a legitimate reason to add them and they should not be added to facilitate the purchase as this would be considered a straw purchase and would be illegal.

Often people add adult relatives or friend who they will be shooting with, or who they want to have access to the firearms to a trust as a co-trustee. This would be a legitimate reason to add someone and would not create a straw purchase issue. On the other hand if you were to add someone to the trust simply to allow you to make the purchase, it could be considered a straw purchase.

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Short answer – Individuals or Trustees cannot, Dealers can.

The reason you can ship a riffle or shotgun by the United States Postal Service but not a Short-Barreled Rifle or Short-Barreled Shotgun is because of how Pistols are defined by the USPS.

The USPS defines a SBR or SBS as a Pistol and not a Riffle and as such does not permit them to be shipped by individuals or Trustees of Gun Trusts. See below

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Recently one of our Gun Trust Lawyer® Clients asked us:

What are the shipping requirements for items in my NFA trust for Trustees in different states? The items are legal in both states and the personnel involved can legally possess the items. I also understand the commercial carrier and USPS shipping restrictions (at least think I do). As there is no transfer of ownership, must the items be transported with a FFL?

Our Trust allows one Trustee to ship to another Co-Trustee who is located in a different state a NFA Firearm that is an asset of the Gun Trust with the advanced approval from the ATF by using an ATF Form 5320.20. There is no requirement to use a FFL as the owner is not changing. The Gun Trust will be the owner of the firearm prior to and after the shipment.

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ATF receives numerous telephone and electronic inquiries on a daily basis. In an effort to provide individuals with the most up-to-date information, ATF has compiled a list of the top 10 most frequently asked questions and provided answers to those questions. Several of the questions deal with the manufacture, sale, use, and transfer of firearms subject to the NFA.

  1. Can a person prohibited by law from possessing a firearm acquire and use a black powder muzzle-loading firearm?
  2. May I lawfully transfer a firearm to a friend who resides in a different State?
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pistolstock.jpgWhile it is legal to add a Stock or a Folding Stock to a pistol, doing so will create a SBR which must be engraved and approved using an ATF Form 1 prior to doing so. In fact, having a stock and a pistol in close proximity with the present ability to configure it as an SBR could be constructive possession of an SBR. If you are planning on doing building an SBR, you should keep the stock in a separate location so that you are not charged with possession of an SBR without a valid tax stamp and approval to do so.
While SBRs are legal in many states, they are not legal in all states and you should check to see if possession or manufacturing a SBR is legal in your state.

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If you move within the same state there is generally not an issue other than being inconvenienced in returning to the gun store to pick up your item when the tax stamp is processed.

If you are moving to another state there are different situations. This discussion will talk about tax stamps involving a Gun Trust and not individual ownership.

1) if you move to a state where the item is not legal, a Gun Trust will not allow you to take that item across state lines.

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With the NRA Convention starting this week, April 12-15th, Gun Trust Lawyer® is happy to announce that any previous client who has had a Gun Trust drafted by us or one of our lawyers can receive a free amendment to allow them to add one of the NRA Endowments to their trust as an outright or contingent beneficiary.

As we have previously announced our new Gun Trusts all come with provisions that allow you to choose if and what you would like to leave to the NRA Endowment Fund of your choice. This amendment or addition to the standard trust allows you to leave any percentage of your trust assets to the NRA before making other beneficiary designations, any percentage of your trust assets to the NRA Endowment Fund of your choice if your beneficiaries do not survive the creators of the trust, or a list of specific items that you want to go to the NRA Charity of your choice.

This will make it easier for our clients to bring their Gun Trusts into compliance with their overall charitable giving goals.

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Yes, you can purchase a machine gun with a Gun Trust but you cannot purchase a new machine gun. (As long as it is purchase in a state where they are permitted) You may be wondering what the difference between and old machine gun and a new machine gun. As of May 1986 individuals, Trusts, and business entities can only purchase machine guns that were made and registered as transferable prior to May 19th of 1986.

A new M-16 can be purchased for $1200-1500, but can only be purchased by police or military, while a legally transferable pre 1986 Machine gun will cost you 10 times that amount.

So for those of you who are looking at a Gun Trust as a way to purchase an inexpensive machine gun, forget it. Not only is a machine gun expensive to buy, but its more expensive to feed. Many shoot 600-900 rounds per minute and the typical magazine will last a second or two.

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Many of us understand how addicting firearms are. When we purchased our first silencer, we had no idea how many we would eventually purchase and how quickly the value of our firearms collection would grow. As the average firearms collection of our clients has grown, we have come our with additional versions of our Gun Trusts for our clients. Because of our commitment to our clients and the firearms owners, we have allowed everyone to maintain their initial investment in their gun trust. The Gun Trusts Lawyers® that we work with will allow you to trade in your original Gun Trust for full credit towards our Asset Protection Gun Trust.

All of our Gun Trusts are designed for NFA firearms as well as regular firearms. As you know, many of the same issues in determining if your beneficiaries will be appropriate to receive your firearms after you die are the same for Title I or Title II firearms. When looking at the value of your firearms collection, be sure to consider the value of your entire collection. To help you decide which trust is appropriate we have put together some basic guidelines.

If you have less than $25,000 in firearms, the basic Gun Trust is probably the right choice. If you have between $25,000 and $50,000 in firearms you should consider the Asset Protection Gun Trust and if your collection is over $50,000 you should be using the Asset Protection Gun Trust.

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Contact Information
Florida Gun Trust Lawyer
Jacksonville Office
4115 Hendricks Ave
Jacksonville, FL 32207
Toll-Free: (877) 7GUN-LAW
Phone: (904) 866-4228
Fax: (904) 875-4081
Ponte Vedra Beach Office
822 A1A N #310
Ponte Vedra Beach, FL 32082
Phone: (904) 425-1910
Fax: (904) 875-4081
Satellite office with limited services and hours.
Call for an appointment.


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