NFA Gun Trust Lawyer Blog

July 11, 2012

DEFIANCE® INTRODUCES THE HPS 4GSK CAL. 45 ACP HIGH PRECISION SILENCER FOR THE KRISS®

I saw this several years ago at the SHOT Show and it looked very interesting. It looks like Defiance setup manufacturing in the US to be able to sell the silencer in the United States.

Nyon, Switzerland (July 2012) – DEFIANCE®, a manufacturer of optimized accessories for operators and professionals, announce the release of the first DEFIANCE® Suppressor designed for the use with the KRISS® Vector family of firearms and is compatible with all KRISS® SMG, SBR and SDP firearms (supports M16x1 LH threaded .45 ACP models).

The DEFIANCE® HPS 4GSK Cal. 45 ACP incorporates an internal baffle system consisting of two steel and three aluminum baffles strategically stacked to minimize sound and maximize suppressor service life.

July 6, 2012

NFA Gun Trust for all Firearms or Not?

by David M. Goldman

We often get asked if one should put all of their firearms in a Gun Trust or not? Like most legal questions the answer is usually “it depends”. All of our Gun Trusts are designed to hold all of your firearms and any real gun trust should be designed for all of your firearms.

With that being said we have seen many documents marketed as gun trusts or NFA gun trusts that are not really designed for NFA much less any firearm. Some which appear to be designed for firearms strictly limit the property or assets that they can hold to NFA firearms.

This is a mistake and any trust you use to hold firearms should be designed to hold all types of firearms, ammunition, and other firearms related items like scopes or optics.

June 21, 2012

Gun Trust Lawyer® Client Feedback

by David M. Goldman

We often get requests for referrals and while we keep the information on our clients confidential we recently had a client send us and email which they gave us permission to publish. Andrew originally purchase a trust from a local attorney because of a recommendation based upon price and it was not until months later that he found out about gun trusts and how a gun trust is very different from a regular trust.

Often times people will ask me, “How much money should I spend on a gun for self-defense?”. I usually respond by asking, “How much is your life worth?”. The implication is that one would typically want a good insurance policy if they are insuring something of great value & should not cut corners in an effort to save a few bucks. I should have applied the same principle to setting up my NFA Gun Trust.

I initially went with another law firm to draft my Trust because the price was very cheap & because the lawyer represented a known SOT/Class 3 dealer. The first Trust that was drafted for me was nothing more than a standard Trust. It was 3 pages long including the cover sheet & did not mention the NFA, ATF, Form 1, Form 4, Form 5, Form 20 or even that the items to be held by the Trust should not be accessible to “prohibited persons” or minors. I e-mailed Mr. Goldman of Law Office of David M. Goldman PLLC to inquire about having a true NFA Gun Trust drafted.

June 13, 2012

Alaska Man Charged for Illegal Silencer and Machine Gun Possession

by David M. Goldman

Closing arguments are about to happen for a trial of three men in Alaska. Schaeffer Cox and two others are charged with, among other crimes, possessing and making an unregistered silencer and possessing an unregistered machine gun.

Defense attorneys will argue Wednesday that their clients acted in self-defense as they took up arms to protect Cox at public appearances, including an interview at North Pole television and radio station KJNP.

Defense attorneys also will claim Wednesday that their clients were entrapped by the government’s primary informer on the case, militia member Gerald “J.R.” Olson, who agreed to work undercover in exchange for consideration on another criminal case.

June 8, 2012

Firearms Law and Gun Trust Lawyer® CLE

by David M. Goldman

Many Lawyers are asking about Gun Trust CLE, I have been working with the Texas Bar on their Firearms Law Seminar. We will be providing some information on Gun Trusts which will be available soon. Attached is the seminar brochure. If you are in Texas they will be covering many topics related to dealing with firearms in the practice of law.

Course Highlights:

Firearms Trusts / Gun Trusts – David M. Goldman

June 5, 2012

ATF Indicted 15 Individuals for Possession and Transfer of Unregistered Firearms

by David M. Goldman

Think the ATF or BATFE ignores possession and transfer of firearms, think again. Today the ATF announced that it arrested and charged 15 individuals who face between 10 and 70 years for many firearms related crimes including the unlawful manufacture of firearms and possession of an unregistered firearm.

11 of the 15 were arrested on Wednesday during a round-up. Remember that an improper transfer or possession of a NFA firearm or Title II firearm could result in severe penalties and criminal charges. These include up to 10 years in jail, a 250,000 penalty, and loss of your firearms.

Using a Professionally designed Gun Trust instead of a revocable trust or free trust that a dealer gives you can help protect you and your family from unfortunately events like this. Our Gun Trusts have been designed by Gun Trust Lawyers® to help with the ownership, possession, transfer, and use of Title II firearms.

June 1, 2012

Michigan (MI) What NFA Firearms can I own? Updated

by David M. Goldman

Michigan NFA 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.

Michigan has several laws dealing with the registration, ownership, and possession of firearms that are changing in January 2009. In Michigan you can own the following items that are regulated the the National Firearms Act:

May 31, 2012

ATF Forms, Examples and Notes

by David M. Goldman

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.

May 31, 2012

U.S. Reverses Stance on Treaty to Regulate Firearms

by David M. Goldman

Reuters is reporting that the U.S would back launching talks on a treaty to regulate arms sales.

The U.S. State Department released a statement that overturns the position of former President George W. Bush’s administration which opposed such a treaty.

Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said the United States would support the talks.

May 30, 2012

Buying a Silencer with a Gun Trust

by David M. Goldman

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.