Machine Gun in Kentucky

It can be transferred on a tax free Form 5, provided there is some documentation from the deceased indicating that he intended it to go to his son. He really needs a lawyer to help with this though.

Prince Yamato said:

It can be transferred on a tax free Form 5, provided there is some documentation from the deceased indicating that he intended it to go to his son. He really needs a lawyer to help with this though.

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This. The inheritance can be established either (a) by will, or (b) by operation of law. If there is no will, state law determines who inherits the property. An informal statement by the deceased does not override these two things.

In the meantime, the son's continued possession of the gun is illegal unless he is the executor or administrator of the estate, or he is the beneficiary of a trust under which the gun was held. I would turn the gun over to a lawyer for safekeeping until the Form 5 is approved.

ETA: I forgot to mention that the first thing to do is to determine if the deceased held the gun as an individual, or under a trust arrangement. If a trust, the son may already be on it, and then nothing further needs to be done.

Country_Soldier said:

I looked up the tax form 5, and from what I can gather, that is to transfer the weapon if it is not functional.

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The form 5 is for a tax-free transfer (ie your friend doesn’t have to pay the $200 transfer tax). It has nothing to do with whether or not the firearm is functional. Your friend can use a form 5 because of the death of the original owner and the fact that he was named as the recipient of the weapon in the will.

If that were not the case, the gun would generally be transferred on a form 4 ($200 tax paid on each transfer) unless the transfer was between two FFL/SOTs (in which case they would use a form 3 which is tax-free). It’s confusing at first, but you eventually get used to it. The good news is that form 5s usually get turned around pretty quick compared to form 4s.

Also, welcome to the NFA affliction! Just a warning though, machine guns get expensive. That MAC is probably worth $5-8k and something like a M16 is closer to $30k. And those prices are just for run of the mill guns. If you have something rare or special, it only gets more expensive. THEN you have to figure out how you can afford to feed the things!

Country_Soldier said:

I don't think it would hurt to have a full-auto to add to my collection

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And on this note you would be dead wrong. It hurts a bunch to own one - at least your bank account anyway. As @Telekinesis mentioned, the low end for MGs starts in the mid 4 figures. From there the sky is the limit.

Country_Soldier said:

Ok, so I asked him about some of the things you all have mentioned. He is the executor of his fathers will, and it does state that the property and everything on it now belongs to him, to include the firearm. I looked up the tax form 5, and from what I can gather, that is to transfer the weapon if it is not functional. The machine gun was held by his dad, tax stamp is in his fathers name.

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Sounds like he's in good shape. What he needs to do is send in the Form 5 to the ATF, with a copy of the probated will attached. In the meantime he can keep the gun as the executor.

The Form 5 is used for several types of tax-free transfers, including inherited weapons as well as transfers of registered DEWATs (DEactivated WAr Trophies). This explains your confusion. (A DEWAT can be reactivated by filing a Form 1 and paying the $200 "making" tax. Subsequent transfers of such reactivated guns must be made using the Form 4 and paying the $200 transfer tax. Remember, this only applies to DEWATs that were registered before the end of the 1968 amnesty.) Inherited weapons are a separate Form 5 category.