List of my guns for wife

Buy a safe.
Lock them up, and assure her that they are safely put away.

I would also want to know why she wants the list, but thats just me.
My wife has complete access to all of my firearms because she shoots them and enjoys them too.

To my wife what I do cost money !
Other than that she couldn't care less. I've had her out to the barn shooting and she tolerates it. Types a hundred miles an hour. Old Sprint main frame tech. Handling leveraction not so much. Ever seen a person shoot a glock and get a double. Just not interested. She could sure shoot a mean dog trying to get hers though. Would never rat me out. That's weak. By God my 90 year old mom would. Done ever tell her my biz. My siblings are shooters and never tell mom anything. If anyone says something about a new
firearm at a gathering mom will say " do you have a license for that".
Open carry state so...

Realistically ask her what she wants the list for so you know what to put on it. 99% chance she is being prudent and wants to know what you’ve got for estate purposes.

But if you guys aren’t exactly on the most cordial of terms, I’d revert to “my guns, not your problem” attitude.

I can understand the OP's situation. I'm about the same age, and my wife also is not a fan of guns. She leaves them alone, which is a good thing as far as I am concerned. The difference, though, is that my wife is well aware, in general terms, of the monetary value of my guns. That alone is enough to prevent her from getting rid of them, willy-nilly, were I to pass on. She undoubtedly would want to maximize her return.

Not knowing the dynamic of your relationship; do you expect she wants to know for any reason other than value or record keeping?

My wife has full access to my guns, has the combos to the safes, the keys to the ammo lockers, a full current inventory, etc. She likes to shoot, she knows where defensive weapons are, and she is cautious about outsiders. No issues here!

If she doesn't know what to do with a bunch of guns lying willy nilly around the house when you die, she probably needs the following:

Manufacturer, model, long gun/handgun, location, approximate value.

It would maker it easier if you put them all in one place, then you don't need the location column. Like propped up in NW corner back bedroom.

One of my friends moved into his late father's house. To this day, he's probably finding guns even his dad didn't know he had.

I don't know enough about this situation to have really appropriate answer, and I don't think I would learn enough about it without camping out at your house for a few days and seeing the dynamic in action. I can explain what I did with my late wife and hope that it provides you with some useful information.

First, I trusted my late wife implicitly. When you sleep in the same room with someone in a house filled with weapons, you'd better.

Second, virtually every gun I own was purchased during our marriage. Legally, my understanding is that makes them a community property asset, as much her property as mine.

Third, my Plan A was for her to outlive me. Statistically that's usually a safe bet with men and women in later life.

Therefore I kept and still maintain a detailed spreadsheet of my firearms, with serial numbers, dates of purchase, actual purchase prices (including DROS and tax) and a summary of modifications and extras (scopes, magazines, extra components, etc.) associated with each, along with their cost. In a separate PDF file is a set of photographs of each arm. I do separate spreadsheets for longarms and handguns, and include antiques, black powder repros and air guns. As my collection has grown, I've found this recordkeeping useful for my own benefit. I keep a couple of backup copies of this documentation on flash drives.

I showed my wife these lists after I first created them and asked whether she had any questions (reply was "whew, that's a lot!") and told her where copies of the files would be stored in case I died and she wanted/needed to liquidate all or part of the collection. I also left instructions on how to open the various safes and which of my friends to consult with when selling firearms to get good deals and remain within the law. She then promptly tabled this whole issue and trusted I would have things up-to-date if it was needed later on. She didn't like thinking about death, and ironically died of cancer at 62, well ahead of schedule.

Having clear documentation, including a separate paper file with all the original purchase receipts and DROS forms is equally useful for insurance purposes, or in the event of police seizure (I'm in CA, so I need to consider this.)

If you are concerned that your spouse has ulterior designs on your firearms or assets in general, I suggest making a list such as this, give your spouse a brief look at it so she knows it exists and what it includes, then make a copy and tell her you have it in your safety deposit box at the bank, where she can find it in the event of your death or incapacitation.

Here is a brief story that may also prove instructional. My shooting buddy had a sister who was married to a gun guy. They divorced after two daughters and years spent together. He later remarried. Both he and his second wife ended up living with one of the aged 50-something daughters in what amounts to end of life home hospice care. Neither could take care of themselves, or manage their finances or healthcare. The daughter was given possession (in writing) of the gun collection and related material (ammo, reloading material, etc.) with the intention to sell everything to help defray the medical bills.

This gun guy did not keep written records of any kind. My buddy and I have been assisting with the identification of the various arms and providing a sense of relative values. Some have been sold locally, some are earmarked for auction sales when time permits, some of the non-regulated material was liquidated at a local gunshow. He had a lot of stuff and the process is still ongoing. Proper purchase documentation would have been a Godsend!

Had a client once that wanted a will drafted. Went through all that and learned he was a gun owner.

He had very specific plans for all his wares. He was scared she’d give them away for far less than what he paid. Or sell them if he passed - and he didn't want her to know what he’d paid for them.

Take that to heart, fellas. Don’t say I didn’t warn you all.

Anchorite said:

Had a client once that wanted a will drafted. Went through all that and learned he was a gun owner.

He had very specific plans for all his wares. He was scared she’d give them away for far less than what he paid. Or sell them if he passed - and he didn't want her to know what he’d paid for them.

Take that to heart, fellas. Don’t say I didn’t warn you all.

Click to expand...

I've read two mystery novels using this basic problem as a plot device: Murder in the Gunroom by H. Beam Piper, and The Executor by Gerald Hammond.

Both are pretty good reads by authors who knew guns, BTW.

I’m 61 and in good shape but I’ve already planned out the disposition of all my firearms, including telling those who are supposed to receive them. I’m not sure what your long term plan is but suggest if you have preferences you make them known. I plan to start passing most of my safe on as my heirs and their kids are established and able to receive them.

I just want to make sure they are passed along as I would like.

First gonna need a itemized list of all her clothing and shoes with approximate value.
For most women that would take so long they would forget about what they originally wanted.

You're 80 they should be listed in your will anyhow.

BarboursvilleBill said:

because she is susceptible to legacy news, especially the "mass shooting" drills, my concern is if she were to turn against me some day and call in the sheriff, for example, to pick up my guns, i'd be out of luck.

Click to expand...

Does your state have a requirement for secure storage? If not they wont just pick them up unless your a danger to her or others.

I have a list of my guns including the sn and description and also any interesting history is noted. My Wife had access to this info when She was alive and my 2 Sons know where it is. Also any guns that are not in the safe have their location noted. Don't forget that it may be a good idea for some trusted person to have the safe combination or know where its written down.

BarboursvilleBill said:

i would appreciate any suggestions you may have.

Click to expand...

Really? If my wife asked for a list of my guns, I'd tell her, "You show me yours and I'll show you mine."
Seriously, I'm in an entirely different situation in that as I've said many times on THR, my wife has as many guns as I have, maybe more. And whichever one of us goes first, the hardest part of "unloading" (no pun intended) about half of our guns is going to be the sentimental part for the person left behind.
BTW, I do think about that situation occationally. I just turned 76, my wife is not far behind, and I know we have a lot fewer hunting trips ahead of us than we have behind us. I'm determined to not really worry about things like that though. Worrying about things like that would just cast a pall over the hunting trips my wife and I have yet to go on.
Today I'm just worried about if this darned rain and snow is ever going to let up. For a couple of weeks now, our rancher friends have been after my wife and me to come over and put a dent in the ground squirrel population (read that overpopulation) on their ranch. We're afraid of getting our truck stuck in the mud though, so we haven't even started on our annual "ground squirrel extermination" hunts this spring.

My wife asked a similar question a while back. We are both 69, and she has a few guns of her own. The reason for her question was, if something happened to both of us. What would happen to the guns? So we are both going to look into a trust, to ensure they will go directly to my son, and not end up in probate for weeks or years, or worst.

rust collector said:

however, and the missing items may yet be found. It would have been very helpful to have a list with locations, but no guarantee it would be up to date.

Click to expand...

Bingo, when my wifes father passed away a lot of the guns where in the gun cabinet but there were several guns we knew he had but could never locate.

Our best guess is that he gave them away to someone with his rapidly deteriorating mental capabilities (Lewy Body Disease)

tarosean said:

You're 80 they should be listed in your will anyhow.

Click to expand...

Probated wills are public documents, so you shouldn't put anything into your will that you don't want potentially the whole world to know. Valuations especially don't belong in a will -- just put in a general description of the assets.

Make a list of the guns and put it in a sealed envelope addressed to your executor. You appoint the executor in the will and then he takes it from there.

Yes, I know that the conventional wisdom is to have a will. However, based on the specific situation, there may be distinct and compelling reasons not to have a will. Most people would do just fine with "testamentary substitutes" such as joint ownerships, insurance policies, beneficiary designations, trusts, etc., as well as the applicable State provisions for intestate succession.

My wife helps me document mine for insurance reasons. Her writing is much better than mine.
She has her own guns as well.
She's bought me some of them over the years. Two Beretta Over Unders, a Ruger Blackhawk, Wilson Combat, Remington 870, Colt Cobra and a few others