JMW White

Gun Trusts

John M. Wells, A Knowledgable and Experienced Gun Trust Attorney in Nashville,TN.

What Is a Gun Trust?

Any trust is simply a legal entity set up to hold title to property.  In the case of a Gun Trust, the language in the trust is specifically tailored to handle the unique issues that can arise with owning and transferring firearms and more specifically National Firearms Act regulated firearms.

Why Use A Gun Trust?

A trust provides you with much greater flexibility with who may legally possess and use your NFA firearm or suppressor.  If you choose to file as an individual, you are the only person who can ever legally possess your NFA firearm.  A Trust will allow you to add or remove other Co-Trustees at any time very easily.  The requirements for what paperwork must be filed with the ATF (forms, fingerprints, and passport photos) are the same for a trust and an individual. The trust also provides an easy method for you to make sure that your weapons are easily passed down to the next generation and are not included in your probate estate.

FAQs

A: It depends on what state you live in, so check your local laws, but in a majority of the states you can own a suppressor or an automatic weapon. Here in Tennessee, it is legal to own both as well as to hunt with a suppressed rifle. If you can legally purchase a handgun, you are over 21 years old, and you can pass a NICS background check, you are good to go.

A:  On top of the purchase price of your firearm or suppressor, the ATF requires a $200 tax as well as some paperwork to be submitted to legally register your NFA item.

A:  A trust provides you with much greater flexibility with who may legally possess and use your NFA firearm or suppressor.  The requirements for what paperwork must be filed with the ATF are the same for a trust and an individual. The trust also provides an easy method for you to make sure that your weapons are easily passed down to the next generation.

A:  The initial cost to have a trust set up is the only real downside.  Trusts have become very common in the last few years and the examiners at the ATF are used to seeing them now.  I charge $250 to prepare the paperwork and explain how to use the trust. The time and effort you save on not having to get fingerprints, photos and CLEO signature makes the one time charge well worth it and also gives you much more flexibility with how you use your items and who gets them down the line.

A: You may list any person as a beneficiary of your trust to inherit items.  The rules for possession of NFA items are the same as handguns.  You must be 18 years old to be in possession and 21 to purchase from a dealer.

 

About Attorney, John M. Wells

John M. Wells is a native of Nashville, Tennessee He graduated from Middle Tennessee State University and the Nashville School of Law. John is an Attorney with Southland Law Group in Brentwood, Tennessee.

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