hjmpanzr:
Very good news to hear that your trusts identify you as the trustee.
If I remember correctly (it’s been about a dozen yrs), one of the primary benefits of an irrevocable trust is that it can make the trust property more “creditor proof” if the grantor were to file bankruptcy, be sued, or the like. But the irrevocable trust must be set up specifically to maximize the protection. That is why your atty is probably recommending an irrevocable trust. So if you decide to use one trust to hold all your property, including the NFA items which your current trusts own, then it may make sense for an irrevocable trust to protect your other property.
I would recommend that you confirm your atty knows the NFA rules. He/she may be a great estate lawyer but may not know anything about the NFA. NFA regulated items are subject to very different rules than most of the other property that your primary trust will own.
IMHO, I wouldn’t combine the trust holding the NFA regulated items which I use into another trust holding all or any non NFA regulated items. I keep the NFA trust separate. Yes, it is a separate instrument that your trustees and beneficiaries will have to address upon your death but it may be beneficial to have that situation. One thing is to consider referencing your NFA trust in your other trust. That way, it is clear to any trustees that there is another trust of which they may or may not be a trustee. Bottom line, is that there is another trust holding some property which you have an property interest in and it can be dealt with accordingly.
Also, one issue that led me to the two trust route is that I wanted to name a number of people as trustees in my NFA trust that I would not want to be trustees over the remainder of my property. It just got too complicated–a separate NFA trust made more sense for me.
If you don’t combine the NFA trust with your primary one then you may not have to worry much about whether it’s revocable or not. At least that is my circumstance. I don’t even recall whether mine is irrevocable. I remember the discussion with the atty at the time when I was creating the trust but I don’t recall what he recommended. I’m not concerned about it but I was with respect to a primary trust. For me, while both trusts have the same beneficiaries they have different purposes for my purposes.
This is very good advice, and its something I’m going to forward to my lawyer, it does make alot of sense, and I can see why you did that, and if I can i would like to do it for the exact same reasons, different trustees
tb-av:
Ahh… I would still try to reason things out with her before locking my NFA items in an irrevocable trust.
Explain to her the complications of owning them and if she wants her half of them she will have to pay $200 each and wait six months and then she has no use for them and will have to sell them at which point she might incur advertising fees and possibly FFL transfer fees.
3.5 suppressors = $1750 value. - $700 tax = $1,050 net value
I’m just figuring $500 each but you could buy her out cheaper than you can re-stamp them. Also not figuring any transfer fees she might incur.
I would guess that if you show good faith in placing the kids names on the trusts she would waive any claim to those items just for the nature of the matter. Surely her kids are worth more than a $1,000 to her because with them as trustees she would be taking the items from them as well as you for what is not really going to net her much money.
Oh she knows the hassle, and really does not want to have to deal with that, as long as they are willed, or what ever to the kids in the event oof our deaths.