Adding a gun to your family trust may be one way to protect your estate and help your loved ones avoid legal issues involving heavily regulated firearms.
A gun trust—which can be set up to change or be irrevocable—is created to take title to firearms and transfer ownership of those firearms—particularly heavily regulated ones or those within large collections—to a family member or heir.
The person receiving the firearm must still pass a background check and identification process before taking possession of that firearm.
Gun trusts can be useful in transferring ownership of a National Firearms Act Title II classified firearm. This type of firearm “can only be used by the person to whom it is registered and no one else. Violation of this law is a felony. Simply letting a friend or family member fire a few rounds…at the local range or at the deer lease is a felony!”
However, a gun trust can be created to enable different people (such as co-trustees of a gun trust) to use the Title II classified firearm.
According to experts, “the cost to create and administer a gun trust is relatively small compared with the potential negative consequences of running afoul of the complex laws surrounding the use and ownership of firearms,” especially those that are heavily regulated.
