Proposed NFA Form Changes
by
Alex C.
Published: January 10th, 2013
According to the Office of Information and Regulatory Affiars a series of changes are being proposed to the NFA transfer process (the process involved in acquiring a machine gun, suppressor, short barreled rifle/shotgun, etc.). These changes will:
- Eliminate the requirement of a law enforcement official to sign your forms
- Require each responsible person of a corporation, trust or legal entity to complete a specified form 1 or 4
- Require each member of a trust to complete and to submit photographs and fingerprints with forms
- Require that a copy of all forms be forwarded to the chief law enforcement officer of the locality in which the maker or transferee is located
This series of proposed changes seemingly eliminates the benefits of forming an “NFA Trust”, a popular way to easily facilitate navigating the difficult NFA process. The elimination of the dreaded law enforcement signature for individuals however is a definite benefit.
Alex is a Senior Writer for The Firearm Blog and Director of TFBTV.
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You make some interesting assertions Dennis. Having just gone through the process of having a gun trust drawn up I wonder how much your points will hold up to a legal test.
I used a firm that offered three level of gun trusts that had
supposed been well researched and developed. With the potential law changes I stressed that I wanted the trust (and thus initial transfer) survive across generations. I was told that there was no way to do this.
From what I was told the trust has to end 21years after my death or, if I am married at the time of my death, my wife’s. That’s going to leave my children having to go through the transfer process (admittedly on a form 5) years down the line if they want to keep the NFA items held in the trust. While that does buy them 21 years it doesn’t live up to the multi-generational image that started me down the trust path.
What was even more disturbing was when I stumbled across the issue that two out of the firm’s three gun trust levels would not allow me to do something that I could do if I acquired the NFA item as a an individual.
When I was questioning the person drawing up my trust it came out that something as simple as taking an NFA item legally to another state even after having a 5320.20
approved by the ATF was _not_ covered. I grilled the person since it meant that two
out of the their three trusts left people exposed on a legal front that they would not be as an individual owner of an NFA item. In fact if I hadn’t asked my question I would have been exposed.
Both of these 'finds' didn’t give me a warm fuzzy that the things I didn’t know to question in the gun trust were done correctly to the point that they would hold up to a legal test.
In my opinion, even if those regulations are approved, an NFA trust is still by far the best way to own NFA items. The advantages of an NFA Trust include, but are not limited to:
1. More than one person can access the NFA item; and
2. The initial trustees of the trust can provide for multiple generations of friends or family to use and access the item without paying transfer fees or receiving additional ATFE approval; and
3. Future generations of trustees will not have to go through probate to acquire the authority to access the NFA items; and
4. Unlike corporate, LLC or partnership ownership of NFA items, the existence of a trust is not disclosed to anyone besides the ATFE; and
5. Unlike a corporation or an LLC, a trust does not require annual filing fees with a state; and
6. Unlike a corporation or LLC, a trust does not require initial or annual meetings or the regular completion of internal paperwork to maintain corporate existence; and
7. Unlike a corporation, LLC or partnership, a trust is not required to file annual tax returns with a state or the federal government.
If you are a Virginia resident, I welcome you to contact me, James Granoski, at james@jamesgranoski.com, or refer your friends to me to establish an NFA Trust.
1. More than one person can access the NFA item; and
2. The initial trustees of the trust can provide for multiple generations of friends or family to use and access the item without paying transfer fees or receiving additional ATFE approval; and
3. Future generations of trustees will not have to go through probate to acquire the authority to access the NFA items; and
4. Unlike corporate, LLC or partnership ownership of NFA items, the existence of a trust is not disclosed to anyone besides the ATFE; and
5. Unlike a corporation or an LLC, a trust does not require annual filing fees with a state; and
6. Unlike a corporation or LLC, a trust does not require initial or annual meetings or the regular completion of internal paperwork to maintain corporate existence; and
7. Unlike a corporation, LLC or partnership, a trust is not required to file annual tax returns with a state or the federal government.
If you are a Virginia resident, I welcome you to contact me, James Granoski, at james@jamesgranoski.com, or refer your friends to me to establish an NFA Trust.
James A. Granoski
Attorney at Law
505 Wythe Street
Alexandria, VA 22314
Telephone (703) 300-2786
Email: jgranos@netscape.net