Post Rule Change - Must All Trustees Submit Fingerprints?

Yes, co-trustees must submit fingerprints.

Anyone who can legally possess the trust's NFA firearms at the time of tax stamp application must submit fingerprints and photographs and a responsible person questionnaire. Successor trustees--folks who only become trustees once you pass away--do not have to submit fingerprints because they're not actually acting as trustees yet.

I'm a lawyer, I do hundreds of NFA trusts every year, and I've read the rule itself. That should be authoritative enough, but if you want to read stuff yourself, start here:

https://www.atf.gov/rules-and-regul...-checks-responsible-persons-effective-july-13

If you want to avoid this requirement for everyone but the grantor of the trust, the trust will have to be amended to remove all other trustees for the duration of the time that the tax stamp application is pending, and then amended again to add everyone back.

Aaron

esq_stu said:

Awesome, thanks.

I guess once I'm getting fingerprinted I may as well add an NFA item to my own trust as well . . .

Click to expand...

I like the way you think.

From Aaron Baker: "Yes, co-trustees must submit fingerprints."
Not to continue flogging this, but if you had a trust prior to Rule 41, you have added no NFA items to it, you add no trustees, that trust could continue into perpetuity as it had prior to Rule 41. This includes legal possession rights for any trustee for any of the NFA items in the trust. Correct?

plodder said:

From Aaron Baker: "Yes, co-trustees must submit fingerprints."
Not to continue flogging this, but if you had a trust prior to Rule 41, you have added no NFA items to it, you add no trustees, that trust could continue into perpetuity as it had prior to Rule 41. This includes legal possession rights for any trustee for any of the NFA items in the trust. Correct?

Click to expand...

I'm not Aaron, but my understanding is that 41F only impacts purchases going forward. I didn't have any effect on prior purchases.

plodder said:

From Aaron Baker: "Yes, co-trustees must submit fingerprints."
Not to continue flogging this, but if you had a trust prior to Rule 41, you have added no NFA items to it, you add no trustees, that trust could continue into perpetuity as it had prior to Rule 41. This includes legal possession rights for any trustee for any of the NFA items in the trust. Correct?

Click to expand...

Yes, if you do nothing to your trust after July 2016, you don't have to submit fingerprints or photographs to the ATF for anyone, ever.

You can also add trustees to your trust after July 2016 without submitting fingerprints or photographs for them or for yourself, as long as all you're doing is adding trustees, and not adding NFA items.

The only thing that triggers the requirement to submit fingerprints or photographs after July 2016 is the application for a new tax stamp.

Aaron