Question about leaving guns in my will

[HOME DEPOT GEORGE]

My wife and I recently did our estate planning and I will be leaving my guns to my son. The question is will he have to have them transferred thru a FFL since he is in another state? I will specify in the will all models and serial numbers so there is no question about any of the guns.

 

[Alland]

As I understand it the executor of an estate can transfer them directly to an heir even interstate.

 

[CoRoMo]

http://codes.lp.findlaw.com/uscode/18/I/44/922
§ 922. Unlawful acts

(a) It shall be unlawful—

(3) for any person, .... to transport into or receive in the State where he resides .... any firearm purchased or otherwise obtained by such person outside that State, except that this paragraph (A) shall not preclude any person who lawfully acquires a firearm by bequest .... in a State other than his State of residence from transporting the firearm into or receiving it in that State, if it is lawful for such person to purchase or possess such firearm in that State....

Once you're dead, they immediately become the property of your son. He can acquire them at his convenience... without an FFL getting involved. Now, if he lives in California, I don't know. Also, if any of these guns are restricted or prohibited in his state, like say, a "high capacity assault rifle" to a resident of California, there's something else to consider. In any event, someone from California will be along to clean up this particular.

 

[HankB]

Unless there's an NFA item, son lives in a commie state like CA, or NJ, or there are other heirs, why list portable assets at all?

 

[AlexanderA]

I will specify in the will all models and serial numbers so there is no question about any of the guns.

Personally, I wouldn't do this. It would be better to refer to the guns in the will in generalities. First of all, a probated will becomes a public record, and there would be a security problem putting all that information out to the public. Secondly, there's a good chance you'll have acquisitions and dispositions from your collection between now and the time you die, and this would create confusion when the list in the will and the items actually on hand don't match up. You'd have to keep the list current by making numerous codicils to the will, something most people wouldn't bother to do.

A family trust might be one solution to this problem, since it's not a public record. Make your wife and yourself the joint trustees and your son the beneficiary.

 

[Bubbles]

AlexanderA has it right. I would just state "I leave all my firearms to my son, John James Doe"... and be done with it. That way as your collection changes the Will doesn't have to change.

Also, while no FFL is needed for an interstate inheritance transfer, the exector may not ship the guns to the heir - the heir has to go pick them up or the executor has to bring them to the heir per Paragraph (3) cited above by CoMoRo. Paragraph (2) just above it covers shipments, and there is no exemption for executor-heir shipments (which IMO is absurd).

 

[Kingcreek]

Good advice above. It's the advice my lawyer gave me and that's how our will is set up.

 

[DCR]

Good on you for consulting your attorney on the issue!

One other consideration you might ask your attorney about is how to deal with the situation in case the specific bequest of guns to your son fails for any reason. It's something that can be added to the will later - a codicil - if it wasn't already covered.

The instance I speak of is state law dependent, so your attorney should be involved. What if, for example, your son became ineligible to possess a firearm for whatever reason (God forbid), or were to pass away immediately before you (leaving no time for you to modify your will), leaving only minor children or other prohibited persons (God forbid) as heirs.

Depending on your state's probate laws, the bequest to your son might then fail, in which case the guns could become part of the "rest and residue" of your estate and go to all your other heirs, in equal portions, or, if there are none, may escheat to the state (no good can come of that!).

Sorry for the morbid speculation, but in today's crazy world, we have to think of the worst possible scenarios in order to avoid your simple will and probate becoming the pathological one that appears in law school textbooks, and where the entire estate gets eaten up in legal fees to the point nothing passes to your heirs.

 

[GRIZ22]

Unless there's an NFA item, son lives in a commie state like CA, or NJ, or there are other heirs, why list portable assets at all?
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NJ lets you inherit guns without all the transfer BS. No NFA or "asault weapons' but anything else is okay.