In case of emergency

[trueblue1776]

Last night our friends were over for dinner on the patio, as the weather was fantastic. After a few beers, this fella starts talking about his Navy Seal/CIA Operator uncle who recently passed (yawn, smile, nod). Apparently this man was a collector, and when he was no more, his wife didn't want the guns in the house, so she just gave them to the couple of friends he had.

I have told my wife before, that she can make a lot of money to pay the mortgage by selling my guns in the event of my death. But more than likely they will be treated like radioactive waste and disposed of in the first fast way that comes up (will or not).

I have a few highly respectable weapons, along with historic, and family guns. It would be a big loss to my family's illustrious history to dispose of some of these. Also I am a firm believer that favorite guns should go to another honorable man who would appreciate them and possibly use them to defend the lives of those he loves.

I'm due for another deployment, and could get the call any time, with or without lead/prep time. And dead or not, I don't want some random prick to end up with my Pop's .38, or buy $10K of guns from my wife for $200.

Here are the reasons this is not simple:

1. I am not a native of the area I live, and have no family here.
2. Wife is native, her family shares her same intense fear of firearms.
3. When I came off AD, any of they guys in my old unit that I liked were rotated to other parts of the country.
4. I have drinking buddies, nobody responsible/respectable enough to take my guns.

Anybody have an idea?

 

[Fly320s]

I'd say a detailed will is your best bet. In the will you can specify who gets each gun and that the gun will be transfered through an FFL if necessary. You can even make the recipient pay the transfer fees if you want.

Or you instruct your wife/family/estate to sell the guns to a dealer who works with estate sales. Make several dealers bid on the lot. Or instruct your estate to sell the guns at X% of blue book value.

Better yet, take the time today to do a detailed inventory of your guns, their condition and accessories, and their current blue book value. Maybe add a note to the list beside the guns that you want to go to a specific person. I did this; it took me about four hours. But now I can quickly and easily update the list.

In short, do the grunt work now so that your wife won't have to do it after your death. Makes it easier for her and you are somewhat assured that your guns will be disposed in the manner you want.

 

[LSCurrier]

I would make sure I had a will and explicitly state names, addresses, and phone #'s for any and all people that I leave items to. I would also make sure that they were aware of the will. I would name an executor to the will that I can trust and leave explicit instructions as part of the will what the executor is to do and how. As a convienence, I would also leave with the will letters addressed to each recipient as a final goodbye and informing them that they are considered in the will.

I would think that this should cover things.

Luke

 

[Fred Fuller]

There are FFL dealers all over the country. You can transfer the stuff you are concerned about now to someone you know will be responsible and not have to worry about it. Retain visitation rights if you want, that way you can visit both the hardware and the people holding it whenever you want.

And anyone worth calling a friend would take care of your stuff for you and give it back whenever you wanted anyway, I'm holding some stuff for a friend who's in A'stan right now till he gets home for good.

lpl/nc

 

[buck00]

1. I am not a native of the area I live, and have no family here.
2. Wife is native, her family shares her same intense fear of firearms.
3. When I came off AD, any of they guys in my old unit that I liked were rotated to other parts of the country.
4. I have drinking buddies, nobody responsible/respectable enough to take my guns.

Take them with you! You have to look at this like the Egyptian pharaohs did. Load up as many of the guns in the coffin with you when you die (unloaded hopefully). If you have more guns than that- get a second coffin and fill it to the brim. Make sure they are all oiled and packed in vacuum sealed bags.

* And then write a post letting us know where you plan on being buried.

 

[kingpin008]

What they all said. Hell, my fiancee and I are only 22 and 26 respectively, but we're both starting to prepare our Wills.

We had a long talk recently about just this subject, and I told her flat-out that my guns are going to go to a few very specific people, and if those people don't want them/can't take them, they're to stay in the family. Period. If I didn't trust my fiancee to honor that request, (which I do, totally and completely) then she'd definetly not be trustable with the rest of my wishes, and would have no say as far as executor of my Will.

Pick someone you trust to do what YOU want done, regardless of how they feel. If that means someone other than your wife, so be it. And like the others said - be SPECIFIC. Painfully specific. Families (especially ones who don't agree/approve of certain activities/interests of their loves ones) are notorious for...fudging things in situations like these, and finding ways to delay or otherwise disobey their loved one's expressed wishes.

 

[Eyesac]

In short, do the grunt work now so that your wife won't have to do it after your death. Makes it easier for her and you are somewhat assured that your guns will be disposed in the manner you want

Roger that. I have some work to do.

 

[Acera]

I think that the NRA has a program for collections after a member passes. If you have some without a good home in mind, try them.

 

[TallPine]

Anybody have an idea?

Get a different wife ...?

 

[trueblue1776]

Acera- I was thinking about an NRA donation in my will, that would be my last choice, still preferable to my wife getting ripped off.

 

[JamisJockey]

Spell out in your will that they must be sold for fair market value to a collector or FFL.

 

[rbernie]

Actively search for an FFL in your area that you can trust, and when you find one - introduce your wife to them.