Owning firearms as a corporation??

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trs18

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I recently went through a divorce and thankfully was able to keep my gun collection. I don't have any furniture, but hey, I have my collection!!

So I started thinking about the future and limiting my legal exposure to such unfortunate events. I was wondering if it is possible to form a corporation and transfer ownership of my gun collection to the corp?? I've heard of people doing this with high-end MG collections. What about just plain old handguns, rifles, and C&R guns? Is it possible for a corporation to have a C&R FFL?
 
I've been considering the same thing with other property, and my research has led me to LLC's, in particular New Mexico LLC's. My research is incomplete as of now, but supposedly items owned by the LLC (limited liability company) make law suits very difficult for lawyers, as you can sue the individual but the possessions owned by the LLC are off limits. If you sue the LLC, then the only possessions that can be sued for are the items owned by the LLC. Most lawyers then would not make enough money to take the case.

New Mexico, according to my research, has very friendly LLC laws. Here is a website that gives a little more detail on LLC's. If you go to this website and fill out the information, there is an e-book that discusses New Mexico LLC's. The website is http://www.canaryislandspress.com/index.cfm/page/htbi2000

By the way, I am not a lawyer and this is just internet research that I am doing for my own benefit. I have the e-book and it is an interesting and eye opening book.
 
I recently went through a divorce and thankfully was able to keep my gun collection. I don't have any furniture, but hey, I have my collection!!

You lucky Ba******! My ex sold a 14 gun collection for $4,000 that I left with her while I was still married when I was deployed to Iraq before the divorce trial. I came out of the divorce with the clothes on my back, $13,000 in marital debt to pay off, $20,000 in lawyer bills, 40% of my pay in alimony for 4 years and 40% of my retirement for life.
 
The best, and by far the easiest, way to avoid having your firearms lost in a divorce is to never, ever get married. And if you do get a lawyer to draft a pre-nup at the front end. I don't think setting up a corporation would be much of a shield for property. All bets are off if you're trying to shield assets from a spouse! Those hands reach a long, long way.
 
It's my undersanding you can use that as a legal entity to own property such as that. I'd do a LLC rather than a full blown C or even S-corp (you don't need a board of directors, annual meetings, and large annual corp. fees to oversee your guns). As the other's said, get a pre-nup if you marry again because chances are if you do, your spouse might be entitled to half of the LLC too, defeating the purpose (I'm not a lawyer...talk to a real one!). You may look into a trust as well as it may offer the same protections (separate legal entity).
 
For the purposes of general, majority rules legal education only, not legal advice, the types of business associations you are talking about are referred to as juridical entities, i.e. things that act like people but are created by the law to insulate people from exposure to financial liability.

While it is true that juridical entities can own possessions and that investors are generally protected from liability for the actions of the entity, juridical entities are designed for the purpose of of incentivising economic production. Corporations, LLCs and other associations that are created solely for the purpose of hiding assets or protecting them are generally ineffective at doing so and the assets are still vulnerable in any legal proceeding in which you incur liability, such as a divorce or other lawsuit. Trusts are generally treated similarly. If you still exercise control over it, it is still your possession and can be vulnerable to a judgment against you.

Talk to a lawyer that practices in your state, but normally you would gain no benefit out of this unless you were talking about a legitimate business interest that owns the guns for a business purpose. That and filing as a corporation or LLC isn't free either.
 
Kinda sideways, but a firearm bought under a FLL3 would be solely owned (not marital property) as its under the individuals federal license

Navy, do what a old SGM of mine did, walked out of the Army at 19 years and something month, picked up a Fed job on post and took a FEDERAL retirement... as the Judgment said he had to split his military pension, Of course it helped that he heard his EX had bough a new house in Florida anticipating his retirement.
 
Navy, do what a old SGM of mine did, walked out of the Army at 19 years and something month, picked up a Fed job on post and took a FEDERAL retirement... as the Judgment said he had to split his military pension, Of course it helped that he heard his EX had bough a new house in Florida anticipating his retirement.

Unfortunately, I am at 27 years now. But the retirement is split based on number of years of marriage/number of years marriage, so the longer I stay in, the lower of a percentage she gets. Also, she had a helluva lawyer, if I roll military retirement into a civilian retirement she gets part of that too.

Anyway - I guess to make this close to on topic - The OP want to seek the advice of a GOOD lawyer. No lawyer or a bad lawyer (like I had) and you are screwed, whether it's gun laws or divorce. Especially when the other side has a pit bull.
 
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