http://www.guntrustlawyer.com/
With the pending signature of a repeal to Alabama’s ban on SBRs/SBSs, I’m considering setting up a trust for NFA items. Does anyone have any experience with a trust from the link above?
Any other suggestions?
Thanks,
Jason
He seems to know NFA inside and out, and the specific structure of various states’ trusts.
My experience has been very positive.
How much does it cost approx. to get a trust set up? If anyone doesn’t mind my asking.
I’ve heard from anywhere from $400 to $600 here in Alabama. Not sure about other states.
cool, thanks!
They set up my trust. Their service was extremely good – fast and thorough. Money well spent, in my opinion.
Always research any lawyer you plan to do business with. Most states have a lawyer search where you can find out when they passed the bar, any history of complaints, etc. While this won’t give you the whole picture it will give you a piece, and is especially useful when comparing that piece to their stated claims or level of expertise. Here is the one for Florida, for example.
http://www.floridabar.org/names.nsf/MESearch?OpenForm
I have even used this to ferret out people claiming to be attorneys that actually were not.
He seems to know his stuff the price does not seem that bad. I am a law student and it was just easier for me to do an LLC when I started ordering NFA items. In Louisiana an LLC is usually easier to form than a trust, but a trust is the better way to go.
Could you expound on that? What are the pros and cons of LLCs vs Trusts?
Thanks,
Jason
First, my standard disclaimer I will not be an attorney until October so this is not legal advice.
Trusts are usually more expensive to create but you do not have any upkeep fees, therefore over time they will end up costing less money than an LLC.
LLCs and corporations are usually cheaper to create but in most states they have yearly fees and in some states I think they are required to file tax returns even if there is no profit.
I went with an LLC because I was able to set it up myself. Under Louisiana law my wife or son can just take over the LLC if something happens to me. Because of laws specific to Louisiana successions and their low fees I would still likely use an LLC.
If I lived outside of Louisiana I would probably go with a trust. If you do go with a trust, consult an attorney. NFA transactions are serious business and you do not want to use a boxed document. The main reason it is better to use an attorney is that you can always go back and sue your attorney if he makes a mistake.
As a side note one of my professors is a federal prosecutor who has prosecuted people for NFA violations and he did not even know that machine guns were legal in some states. The average attorney may not know enough to handle the transaction.
If I were you I would find an experienced attorney that handles NFA transfers in your home state. The gun trust lawyer guy would be my second choice.
Sorry for the long post. Good luck and I hope your Governor signs the proposed bill. I have my first SBR on the way and can’t to add it to my suppressors.
Thanks for the info. It will come in handy.
If I were you I would find an experienced attorney that handles NFA transfers in your home state. The gun trust lawyer guy would be my second choice.
The way David Goldman (“GunTrustLawyer”) explained it to me, you spend time on the phone with him getting the trust set up so that it’s tailored to your needs and then he sends it to a lawyer that he works with in your state of residence. That local lawyer will review the trust to make sure it is good to go for your state and then you finalize it with them. He splits his fees with the local lawyer.
This is exactly how it worked for me. The local attorney for GunTrustLawyer here in Houston that I deal with is a very knowledgable woman whose husband actually works for one of the NFA dealers here in Houston.
I have a friend who is a the General Counsel and Corporate Secretary for a well known California-based (poor bastard) corporation who recommended that I have someone who “knows NFA inside and out” do my trust instead of him since he is a privacy/digital signature specialist who has US Attorney friends who have prosecuted NFA cases. When I emailed him a copy of my trust he commented that it was one of the best written speciality trusts he had ever seen.
That sounds like a good idea then. NFA expert and a local attorney.
Call your governor’s office and voice your support for the bill, I have worked with several politicians and public opinion can always sway them. The more free states we have the better.
I just started the process with them, David Goldman @ guntrustlawyer.com
NC was $600. Once I get, fill-out, and mail back the paperwork they send it on to a local attorney.
It’s a little pricey but I’m just into my 30’s and this trust will be for life (without further fees) so I’ll pay now rather than worrying about ‘paying’ later.
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Same as above, in VA, local attorney was great. It was expensive, but it is extremely well written according to the patent attorney I do work with all the time, and a buddy in OH who’s a partner in a firm. They spend plenty of time reviewing it with you, and you can call back or email them at any time, and they also will make changes in the future for free if you need them.
I used them as well for Florida. Roughly $600, but it was well-worth the piece of mind when you consider the potential penalties. I talked to the lawyer on the phone so that they coudl set up teh trust appropriately and they emailed the forms a day or two later for me to get signed/notorized.
They also inlcude directions for purchasing and assigning property to the trust.
Let say a friend setup a trust through a lawyer. Can I or someone else copy his trust, replace his personal info and register it. Would this be legal? or doable? have anyone tried this?
I suppose anything is possible. Although you would want to ensure a similar relationship between the people in the trust to ensure the langauge is correct etc.