Armed for the Future: Gun Trusts Help Owners Legally Pass Down Firearms
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By RACHEL EMMA SILVERMAN
Who gets the guns after you're gone?
Lawyers say a growing number of firearms owners are creating special gun trusts, which are designed to allow collectors to share and pass down firearms to loved ones without inadvertently breaking any laws. The trusts also make it easier for gun enthusiasts to procure certain restricted firearms, such as suppressors, because of a quirk in federal regulations.
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Interest in these trusts is growing, lawyers say, after a series of recent mass shootings brought responsible gun ownership into the national conversation. That's because gun trusts, if drafted properly, may offer gun owners and their heirs some protection from future laws placing restrictions on gun ownership, they say.
"What's happening recently has really changed the landscape" of firearms planning, says David Goldman, a Jacksonville, Fla., lawyer, who helps clients set up gun trusts.
Even without the specter of stricter gun-control legislation, however, a complex patchwork of federal and state gun laws makes it easy for gun owners and their families to get into legal trouble when transferring or taking possession of firearms, especially restricted ones. A gun owner, for example, may not realize that an heir who is a legal medical marijuana user may be prohibited from owning a firearm under federal law. Creating a trust, a legal entity that holds the guns and is managed by a trustee (typically the gun owner) for beneficiaries, can help owners properly navigate this thicket of rules.
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Having a trust is "a responsible way of owning a firearm," says Mr. Goldman. It "provides a set of rules for how you want your assets to be managed during your life, and in the event of your incapacity and beyond," he says.
Meanwhile, because of a legal loophole, collectors can buy certain restricted firearms, such as machine guns and short-barreled rifles, through trusts without having to get the approval of a local law-enforcement officer, like individual buyers do. Many gun trusts, in fact, are created for this purpose, says Dennis Brislawn, a Kirkland, Wash., lawyer who has drafted hundreds of gun trusts for clients.
A spokesman for the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, the federal agency enforcing gun laws, says that applications to transfer restricted firearms to trusts or corporations has grown rapidly in recent years, to 39,354 last year from 26,376 a year earlier. He says the agency is reviewing a proposal to make firearms purchased through trusts subject to the same requirements as guns bought by individuals.
Setting up a gun trust can range from several hundred dollars to about $2,500 in lawyers' fees. Online gun-trust forms can be purchased for less than $100, but users should make sure they are compliant with federal and state laws.
Ms. Silverman is a Wall Street Journal staff reporter in Austin, Texas. She can be reached at rachel.silverman@wsj.com.
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