According to the Washington Post, “roughly 20 to 30 percent of Americans personally own one or more guns.” However, a gun enthusiast knows that personal ownership is not the best way to “own” guns. Let’s look at how to own your guns without “personal ownership” so that you can better protect your weapons and gun collections.
Up to 40% of Americans Call Themselves Gun Enthusiast
Americans own more guns than other nations due to the freedoms our forefathers generously passed down. The right to own a weapon and stand against tyranny when needed is part of our heritage.
According to American Gun Facts, “32% of Americans say they personally own a firearm according to the 2021 National Firearms Survey. This means that more than 81.4 million Americans own guns. This number only includes adults over 18. When you include family members who live in their same household as a gun owner, that number jumps to 41% of all Americans. Gallup has this figure estimated at 44% of households.”
How to Own Guns Without Owning Guns
So why do the Washington Post’s numbers differ from Gallup estimates? Possibly because many households take advantage of opening a Gun Trust.
A trust is a legal framework that owns assets for you, placing a layer of protection on your assets by “owning” them for you. You lay out the trust terms and name a trustee (sometimes yourself) to manage the ownership of the guns.
The type of trust determines how much protection your assets have from:
- Creditors
- Bankruptcy
- Long-term care expenses
- Family members
- The ATF!
Don’t Let the ATF Confiscate Your Guns
You and your attorney may draw up a gun trust as revocable or irrevocable.
A revocable “living” trust is more common because you (the grantor or trustor) can easily change the terms of the trust at any time. With this type of trust, the main advantage is that your guns will not go through probate if listed as assets in your gun trust at the time of your death. If guns go through probate court, the ATF can easily confiscate them.
If you own “Class 3 Firearms” (NFA guns or silencers outlawed by the National Firearms Act of 1934 or The Gun Control Act of 1968), you probably know the firearm itself is not a “class 3 firearm.” However, the dealer that sells these firearms must have a class 3 license to sell to you.
You must have proper licensing from the FTC to own an NFA weapon. Keeping these weapons safe involves placing them in a trust to avoid probate court. If you pass away and leave your guns to someone without a license from the ATF, the estate administrator is legally obligated to report the guns to the ATF for confiscation.
Don’t Let Friends Illegally Shoot NFA Weapons
If you own a gun collection or a “Class 3” NFA weapon, a gun trust can help you legally share weapons with friends or family. If you let a friend shoot your gun or give an NFA gun to your grandson, they could face felony charges without proper licensing from the ATF!
Possessing or firing an NFA firearm is illegal without the proper licensing. A gun trust allows multiple people listed in the trust terms to legally use your regulated NFA weapons without interference from the ATF.
Pros and Cons of An Irrevocable Gun Trust
An irrevocable trust is different from a revocable “living” trust. An irrevocable gun trust protects your guns more but gives you less control. The pros of an irrevocable gun trust include:
- Shielding your weapons from creditors
- Keeping the ATF out of your weapon ownership business
- Preventing a court judgment from ordering you to sell your weapons
- Qualifying for government programs such as Medicaid, SSD, or SSI
- Getting government funds for nursing home or assisted living if you place guns into an irrevocable gun trust 5 years before needing Medicaid to pay for your care
- Shielding your guns from bankruptcy proceedings
- Protecting your weapon collection assets from divorce judgments. You can insert a divorce clause into your gun trust agreement to prevent your beneficiary spouse from receiving further distributions from the trust if divorce occurs.
The cons of an irrevocable trust include:
- You may not easily remove your weapons from the trust once you place them in it
- Once you’ve set the terms of the trust, it stands as a separate entity from you, and you may not easily change those terms.
- It’s almost impossible to “take back” an irrevocable trust
Gun Trusts Make Your Legacy Possible
As a gun owner and enthusiast, it’s crucial to protect your gun collection from interference by the government. Many believe that a trust can even prevent future government confiscation depending on how legislation plays out as time passes.
There are a great many benefits to opening a gun trust. These benefits extend to your family and friends, your heirs, and yourself. A gun trust can even increase the inheritance you leave behind if you get government help to pay for long-term care in the future. Ask your attorney how you can plan for Medicaid to cover your long-term care expenses in the future, even if you own too many assets now to qualify. Planning with a gun trust to leave more to your future heirs is not only possible but probable.
If you’d like to:
- Protect your gun collection from ATF confiscation
- Protect your family and friends from felony charges
- Give yourself possible future government benefits and pass more inheritance down
- Protect your valuable weaponry assets from creditors, bankruptcy, divorce, and long-term care costs
- Avoid probate court
- Protect other assets you’d like to add to the trust
We Can Help
If you own a gun collection or other weapons that need licensing from the ATF, contact us to set up a gun trust to keep your weapons safe. We work with gun enthusiasts to draw up gun trusts that meet your future goals for your life. Our experienced attorneys understand how the law works surrounding class 3 firearms ownership. We have the experience and knowledge to help you open a gun trust to protect your assets and realize your life goals.
Contact us at Cape Fear Law today and find out how we can help you.