There’s a line of thinking that says an ‘NFA Trust’ is a good way to go when purchasing your expensive (and tightly regulated) supercool toys like suppressors and full-autos.
Several places on the internet sell kits to let you set up your own trust. I caught this over at Jerking The Trigger:
I am automatically skeptical of most of the NFA trusts that are sold online. A trust is a legal document/entity that, while not rocket surgery to build, is going to be the legal means of holding some of your most highly regulated and expensive possessions. I want to know its going to be right. Thankfully, Silencerco has stepping into the fray with their NFA EasyTrust offering.
The EasyTrust is a properly prepared gun trust offered by Silencerco, a company who knows a thing our two about NFA items. “It enables the use of NFA-regulated firearms and accessories among trustees, protects against potential future regulatory restrictions, and provides for the orderly transition of ownership upon death. It also tends to speed up the process for obtaining NFA items, eliminating the need for a Chief Law Enforcement Officer’s signature, fingerprints cards, etc. ”
The EasyTrust is 50-state legal and costs $129.99 which is more than some DIY trust options but less expensive than going to a lawyer who knows something about firearm specific trusts. It is quite affordable and very easy.
One major appeal of this, to me, is that by having the silencers in a trust, and me and the missus being in that trust, then we can use each others silencers without the other person having to be around. As I understand it, if I wanna pull her Evolution-9 outta the safe and take it somewhere, I can’t do that without her being there. Ditto if she wants to take my Sparrow to the range to play with.
This, of course, opens up a whole other question: do you want to get your name on ‘the list’ by purchasing such items to begin with. Honestly, I figure my name has been on ‘the list’ for so long I may as well give up hope of being overlooked and just start buying all the high-profile toys I can afford while I still can.
Ultimately, if they want to prosecute you for something, then they will, even if they have to make it up as we’ve all seen they are capable of doing.
I had my lawyer do the full estate planning package…living will, durable power of attorney, trust, etc. She did the NFA trust for free. I’m not sure I would trust an online version…declaring who gets my Beanie Baby collection after I’m dead is not the same thing as keeping my butt out of federal pound-me-in-the-ass ATF prison.
Whenever I see these I am reminded of the H&R Block commercials from a couple years back – “Ask the box.”
And I’ve got no axe to grind – when I get clients who want NFA Trusts I refer them out, even though I do wills and trusts as a matter of course, because of some rather interesting quirks in Oregon law that could, over the course of a week or two, turn every trustee in the state into a felon. I’ll leave that gamble for others….
Oh – obviously YMMV in Montana or other states.
That is the company (local!) we and our friends dealt with (though the trusts were from an atty) and they are very reliable. And let me tell you – they know their way through the red tape. If they’re offering a trust service, well, I’d be comfy with it. As long as you tote ye olde binder of tax stamps and are a member of the trust, you are in the clear.