How many people here have a NFA gun trust?

[MontereyC6]

I've got a trust. As far as paying an attorney to do it, here are my thoughts. There are 2 things in life I don't mind paying top dollar for. First is medical/doctors. I'm not going to shop around for the best deal. I want the best doctor I can get. Second, legal advice. I want good legal representation when it comes to anything involving my family or finances. Shopping for the best price doesn't mean its the best someone can do for me. My $.02.

 

[OneBadV8]

I am thinking of doing this as well. I contacted Timothy Kalamaros at contact@timothykalamaroslaw.com today about an NFA trust. I got his name and contact info from this site. He is from Mishawaka. He sent me alot of good info. Looks like the cost is about $600.

Got mine from David Goldman, guntrustlawyer.com. It was $600, but worth every single penny. Their customer service is unbeatable, and they will make sure every single question you might have is answered. I highly recommend them.

I've got a trust. As far as paying an attorney to do it, here are my thoughts. There are 2 things in life I don't mind paying top dollar for. First is medical/doctors. I'm not going to shop around for the best deal. I want the best doctor I can get. Second, legal advice. I want good legal representation when it comes to anything involving my family or finances. Shopping for the best price doesn't mean its the best someone can do for me. My $.02.

I went with Goldman as well. Goldman actually processes them through
Timothy Kalamaros

 

[CountryBoy19]

How would this work out? If a it was the .gov in the first place that looked at the trust and approved say a MG into the trust. Now 15 years later the .gov is trying to say the trust is not valid. Yet could not the agrument be made that same .gov OKed it 15 years ago by approving the MG into the trust. If they (.gov) had issues with the trust they should have spoken up 15 years prior and not allowed the MG into the trust.

I know CB that you are not an ATTY and neither am I so it's just a question for the masses. If I ever get into CLASS 3 stuff I do plan on going with an ATTY.

The government doesn't examine your trust and approve it as a legal entity. They look at your trust and do a background check to determine if it isn't eligible to possess NFA firearms. They approve it to possess items based upon the lack of a criminal background. In the early days NFA trusts were being sent to the ATF legal department to be checked but trusts soon became VERY popular and it became too much for them. So AFAIK they are no longer screening them to verify that they are a legal entity. So, if you send a trust application in you better be certain that it is legal because the ATF is only going to briefly check it for major problems (ie, does it have a grantor? Does it have a beneficiary? Is it signed & notarized?). If, at a later date, they discover that it was never a legal entity to begin with you can be sure of only one thing, they will try to confiscate everything that is owned by it.

A trust isn't just as simple as a person is. Yes, I'm a "legal entity" myself, and it's relatively easy to prove that because I have a ssn, a physical body, drivers license etc. A trust has none of those. The very thing that defines it as a legal entity is the language contained within the trust. And if there is an error with that language it very well may mean that it isn't a legal entity even if you thought it was.

 

[gunselman]

Goldman as well through Timothy Kalamaros. Money well spent.

 

[Chesh97]

I used Quicken Willmaker for < $15 and had no problems, as well as countess others have. It's up to you! However, take into account noone ever has any evidence to back up their "trust could be invalid" claim.

Go the route you feel will help you sleep at night.

ETA- More reading enjoyment

NC SILENCER: The Truth About NFA Trusts

 

[CountryBoy19]

I used Quicken Willmaker for < $15 and had no problems, as well as countess others have. It's up to you! However, take into account noone ever has any evidence to back up their "trust could be invalid" claim.

Trusts are "relatively new" in the NFA world as it was late 90's or early 2000's that the ATF finally started accepting them after a big fight about it even though it has technically been legal since NFA '34.

With them being relatively new, and the concept of using Quicken Willmaker even newer yet, it's no wonder there is no evidence to back up the claims that it could be invalid. It could take years, or even until the grantor's death to figure out that the trust is invalid. After the grantor has died is a bad time to figure out that the trust was never valid in the first place. IMHO, a trust is a lifelong investment and the cost broken down over decades of use is pennies per day if you have it drawn up by even the most expensive of lawyers. Over it's lifetime it will hold in some cases tens of thousands of dollars worth of firearms. Why cut corners?

 

[viper5243]

I'd say 99% of the items i transfer are to guys using a trust. Most of them have done it with quicken willmaker. I think only 1 or 2 have had a lawyer draw one up for them.