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Lets talk Trusts...pros and cons

1469 Views 8 Replies 5 Participants Last post by  va_plinker
So I am putting together a Form 1 right now and would like to get some opinions about forming up a trust. Being in the military I tend to leave for varying amounts of time and don't like the idea of my wife not "legally" having access to my gun safe because I have a few class 3 items in there. I know that the 2 cans that i already have wont be under the trust unless I transfer them but for future items I am thinking a trust may be the way to go. I don't have any issues getting signatures, but like I said I would like for my wife to have access when I am gone.

One question I did have is if a trust is state specific? WHen I form it here in GA then move will I have to form a new one in say TX?

Another problem I just thought of, what can I legally do with my class 3 items if I get stationed overseas and can't take them (germany)?

Just trying to decide what is going to be the best route for me, especially since I don't plan on stopping anytime soon with buying stamps... ;D
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When I was active duty, and shipped overseas, I made up a "power of attorney" for a fellow class III owner to hold my guns in his safe till I returned. I did, however, have a will to cover the possibility of my NOT returning. If you leave your state (in this case Georgia) , and the holder you choose is in another state, you MUST get PRIOR permission/approval from ATF to cross state lines. I used to do this every year to attend the machinegun shoot at Knob Creek. NEVER got turned down. I live in Alabama and chose a Class III friend in Florida to hold mine. No problem with approval. ATF approval form and power of attorney legalized all seven weapons. Hope this helps. :machinegun:
I always give my wife a general power of attorney anytime I go to Iraq, just makes sense. I just like the idea of her being able to take out an SBR if she feels that way. It sounds like a trust is the way to go, just because I am gone so much and my wife likes to shoot when I am gone.
I'm headed the trust route soon...

You and your wife would be trustees (of your trust... not mine :eek:), but my understanding is that you can add someone else as a co-trustee in the event you need to go oversea. Your Trust could be set up so that the co-trustee cannot sell items from the trust by acting alone, but as a co-trustee could legally possess the collection. This is probably getting into advanced NFA trust territory, so an attorney should be consulted.

The LEO sign off is not a big deal for me either, but the whole hassle of photo, prints, sign off for each item is a PITA. Then there is the whole wife grey area.

Another option is a corporation, where you can have any number of corporate officers. The problem here is that your state will probably have an annual fee to register your corporation. Virginia has something called a business trust that is similar to a Trust in how it is created and managed and yet allows for multiple people to share in business interests. However, it too has an annual fee in Va.

I don't know of any issues in moving once the trust is created. The laws of the state where the trust is created prevail.

Do we have a resident attorney here?
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I always give my wife a general power of attorney anytime I go to Iraq, just makes sense. I just like the idea of her being able to take out an SBR if she feels that way. It sounds like a trust is the way to go, just because I am gone so much and my wife likes to shoot when I am gone.
Why would you need to go the trouble of POA?
Are you saying one she would need this just to shoot your guns (SBR's)?
I am not following.
Correct, go living trust and make your wife a trustee. Problem solved.
I always give my wife a general power of attorney anytime I go to Iraq, just makes sense. I just like the idea of her being able to take out an SBR if she feels that way. It sounds like a trust is the way to go, just because I am gone so much and my wife likes to shoot when I am gone.
Why would you need to go the trouble of POA?
Are you saying one she would need this just to shoot your guns (SBR's)?
I am not following.
The way I read the NFA stuff is that if you have a class 3 item registered to you and you alone, you are the sole authorized person to have access to them. If I am out of the country they have to be locked up where no one else has access.
I always give my wife a general power of attorney anytime I go to Iraq, just makes sense. I just like the idea of her being able to take out an SBR if she feels that way. It sounds like a trust is the way to go, just because I am gone so much and my wife likes to shoot when I am gone.
Why would you need to go the trouble of POA?
Are you saying one she would need this just to shoot your guns (SBR's)?
I am not following.
The way I read the NFA stuff is that if you have a class 3 item registered to you and you alone, you are the sole authorized person to have access to them. If I am out of the country they have to be locked up where no one else has access.
Isn't that for actually owning one?
I couldn't just borrow my buddy's SBR and take it to the range?
Isn't that for actually owning one?
I couldn't just borrow my buddy's SBR and take it to the range?
Only if your buddy is there, otherwise it is a felony.
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