Firearms in Your Estate & Will

jmr40 said:
I have 2 kids, 5 grandkids. They have already been given the stuff that is important and will be getting more as I get older. I don't want to wait till I die. I want to get to see them enjoy them
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My Dad pretty much did the same for me.

Even though he called me up to say how happy he was getting a new .17 HMR rifle the other day. Even at 86, he’s like a kid at Christmas when a new gun is involved!

Stay safe.
 
The other problem is that if I survive long enough to need “Assisted Living”, any such 'facility' prohibits guns. :(

But in the time period before that, if I die first my wife will give my guns away; and whoever gets them will sell them for
cash ($)- because nobody I know prefers my types of guns. Most people prefer cash over guns they had no intention of shooting more than once.

Lots of people ‘in the gun world’ are kidding themselves about what could -Easily- happen to their guns.
Everybody thinks “Oh no, I have it all planned out”.
 
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earlthegoat2: that looks like a good solution. But my wife -years from now--will have too many physical discomforts to Feel like taking the guns anywhere, and my son (pretty busy) isn't interested in guns.;)

If three miracles hadn't saved me on the day of my heart attack in 2017 (I had Ignored shortness-of-breath: 100% plaque in Widowmaker Artery💀)
.....after my funeral service my wife would have Called one or two buddies and said "Come and get what you want".👩‍🦰 ---Literally----Zero exaggeration. She won't need the money.
 
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I tend to "loan" firearms to family and close friends. If I die before I get them back, 🤷🏽

(Part of the reason for this, is I have one close relation who's sold many firearms because he let himself get into a financial bind. Loaning him a firearm means he won't sell it while I'm alive.)
 
Everything we own is already in our trust. And I recently moved along basically everything I don't shoot much anymore. So, there are now only six shotguns, three rifles and four handguns left to deal with. The trustees can handle that easy.
 
I have been wondering about this very topic. Not necessarily the regular guns, but the NFA items. I bought them in a trust, but really don’t understand how that works upon my passing. I need to do some research.
 
I’m in my late 50s and my wife and I have no children and no will as of yet. I know stupid of us. We have a weird agreement. If our health starts to go we are going to sell everything and take the money and travel the globe. When the money runs out we’ll head to Finland and end it together in one of their huts you can rent for that reason.
 
Barmcd said:
I have been wondering about this very topic. Not necessarily the regular guns, but the NFA items. I bought them in a trust, but really don’t understand how that works upon my passing. I need to do some research.
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Form 5. Transfers tax free to the recipient. Check it out on the ATF's website.
 
Barmcd said:
I bought them in a trust, but really don’t understand how that works upon my passing. I need to do some research.
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You need to talk to the lawyer who set up the trust for you.
Short answer, all property owned by the trust, for which you are the trustee, is still owned by the trust when you die, but control passes to the successor trustees named in the trust, bypassing your will, probate, and estate. Assuming the trust was properly established as a gun trust, the NFA license is held by the trust, not by you, so the NFA gear remains legally held and usable by all trustees. If the co- trustees and successor trustees are not the right folks, you need your estate lawyer to update the trust accordingly.

Also, your executor and the co- and successor trustees all need to know all of this information before you die. If your will names an executor who never agreed to act in that capacity, you need to talk to that person or institution. Folks who are surprised to learn they are executors when a friend or relative passes can and do refuse the job, which really complicates life for your heirs.
 
As trust regulations vary by state, you need to check with a lawyer who deals in trusts.
IIRC, here in ILL-ANNOY, we are not allowed to have firearms in a trust because of the FOID (Firearm Owner I.D.) regs. As I don't have kids and most of my grand-nieces/nephews don't seem interested, I'm in a bit of puzzlement as to what to do with the 16+ operable firearms (and ammo) I own. I don't want to sell them but may be forced to if the economy and/or my health tank.
 
Why the need for trusts and lawyers - please help me understand????? What about a document (a will) or verbal wishes to a trusted soul (like a spouse) that directs a described firearm (serial # blah, blah, blah) possession to a named relative or individual after your demise. If you do not have a firearm directed by a trust or a lawyer, does a SWAT team raid the gifting occasion when your wife hands the firearm to your newly designated owner while sitting in her living room? What am I missing?
 
I'll chime in with another angle.
I am blessed to have been bequeathed my late fathers collection of pristine UK sporting flintlocks, percussions and big bore breach loaders. He dearly loved becoming knowledgeable of the various British gunsmiths, their evolution, and resultant value*.
But unfortunately, value is very subjective and current market dependent. Point is, what may be of great value to you, might not be of such value to your heirs after you pass.
While none of us want to part with our prized possessions unnecessarily, there may be an optimal time to do so, which may be before, or after you pass- no one can predict future value with accuracy.
And that may also be the heirs (generally fortunate) dilemma to deal with. If they are all lifetime family heirlooms, then it's a moot point. If there is a financial/distribution component, then it may be different.
 
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Steve S. said:
Why the need for trusts and lawyers - please help me understand????? What about a document (a will) or verbal wishes to a trusted soul (like a spouse) that directs a described firearm (serial # blah, blah, blah) possession to a named relative or individual after your demise. If you do not have a firearm directed by a trust or a lawyer, does a SWAT team raid the gifting occasion when your wife hands the firearm to your newly designated owner while sitting in her living room? What am I missing?
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I purchased NFA items with a trust. Makes it easier on the initial purchase.
 
Steve S. said:
What am I missing?
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Relatives get ito gaawdawful fights over items of value, and it takes a court using a will or trust to hamdle the fight equitably. SOme famlies deal politely with the obvious intended heirs, but many do not.
 
Noclutch said:
While none of us want to part with our prized possessions unnecessarily, there may be an optimal time to do so, which may be before, or after you pass-
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Some guns have increased in value tremendously. That means they may be subject to a hefty capital gains tax when sold. (I'm thinking here primarily of machine guns.) The IRS may have a compliance program to identify these when they are sold. (I'm not saying that it necessarily does, but it would be easy for the IRS to get the information from ATF.)

Here's the thing, though. There's a rule that the cost basis of inherited property is stepped up to the fair market value at the date of death. That means that the guns can be sold by the heirs with no gain being recognized.

But the stepped-up-basis rule only applies to property that is actually passed at death. Guns held in trust don't "pass" at death, and therefore maintain their original (low) basis. There might be a tax surprise when the trust is dissolved and the guns eventually are sold.
 
I haven’t done anything, my dad gave me and my brother instructions. My brother will pick a pistol, I will pick a rifle, then my brother picks a gun, then me, and so on until they’re gone. He did tell us to give one to a family friend, at which point I told him he should give one to him himself.

I assume he put all that in his will but I don’t know for sure. Hopefully I don’t find out any time soon. He has also given me and my brother some individually.
 
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