New to me info about NFA estate planning

[Binky98]

Living through the other side of this, I can guarantee those left behind will appreciate it. When my Dad passed away I knew one of the first tasks was to get his SBS taken care of. It took chats with 2 different law enforcement agencies and 2 different ATF offices to get a legitimate path forward for what to do next. He has been gone 3 months now and I can tell you it still isn’t fully resolved.

I can tell you if you end up in this situation first find a buddy or family member that can store the barrel ,provided they do not have a host action and it is removable, while you hang on to the action. This prevents any issues around ‘intent to assemble’ while you get the particulars squared away.

 

[bigfug]

To me, the benefit of being able to share/loan/co-own NFA items is the real benefit. Since my kids are on mine, it doesn't change anything financially, either way they dont have to pay for the stamp, but they dont have any hoops to jump through, they just take possession and remove me from the trust. Just one less thing for them to worry about when the time comes. But in the meantime, if my brother wants to take my sbs shooting, he can since he's on the trust and vice versa, we dont always have to be together. A trustee rather than the individual is all that has to be there.

 

[Claybuster]

Although I am a lawyer, I think in many situations trusts are needless complications to peoples lives and estate plans. Sometimes a plain old Last Will and Testament, or even intestacy in some cases, will serve the client as well as creating a trust. The best course of action is always fact specific and isn't static. Your situation changes through life and what is sufficient at one stage is not at another.

The public at large has been unnecessarily alarmed about probate/administration of estates, and estate taxes; usually to the benefit of those who stand to gain from their ignorance. Court probate/administration of estates is a tried and true process that we as a society have been doing for hundreds of years.

A shovel and a backhoe are both digging tools. Pick the one that is best for the job at hand. If all you are doing is planting a tree in your yard, go with the shovel.

In most instances though an NFA trust is the best tool for the job. What differentiates NFA items from anything else is their regulated status and corresponding tax stamp. As pointed out above, when the trust is established it can provide for multiple and successive trustees. It can be amended to adapt to life changes, like the death of a trustee or the birth of a grandchild. It can hold multiple NFA items. It can provide for restrictions or limitations on a trustee or a beneficiary. But the most important thing it does is prevent successive transfers of the NFA item(s). Once it acquires the asset, if drafted correctly, no further transfers are necessary to pass the item down to the next generation(s).