Today I ran across an entry on Nolo’s website addressing the appropriateness of using their living trust software, commonly referred to as Quicken, or Will Maker, to make a Gun Trust. The same issues would exist for Legal Zoom or other standard trust software. Thousands of people and many gun dealers have prepared gun trusts using Nolo’s software. The problem is the software was never designed for Gun Trusts and their trust may cause legal problems for their family and friends.
Nolo states:
Can I use a Nolo living trust to make a gun trust?
No. If you want to create a gun trust, get personalized legal advice from an expert on gun laws. Nolo living trusts are designed for the people who simply want to pass on their assets while avoiding probate. Gun trusts are complicated because they:
— may need to last for more than one generation — may have multiple trustees, and — must address both state and federal weapons laws.
Nolo’s living trusts do not address these issues, and so you should not use Nolo living trusts to transfer weapons. If you want to make a gun trust, get help from a lawyer who has plenty of experience with these trusts and state and federal weapons laws.
While Nolo’s webpage does not address many of the issues to use a real Gun Trust, they have finally addressed the issue clearly. NO you should not use Nolo’s software to create a Gun Trust. We have been telling people this for years and now Nolo has addressed the issue to help people avoid the problems that using their product could create. If you have, we can help you modify your trust into a proper Gun Trust with the help of a Gun Trust Lawyer® licensed in your state.
Updated 8/21