Hello, I have a quick question about a gun trust. My dad is currently setting up a gun trust with himself as the “Settlor” , me as the “Trustee” and my wife, mother, sister, and son as the “beneficiaries”. Lets say, I add my Ruger AC556 machine gun to the trust and a year later my father dies. Do I , as the “Trustee”, have any control over what happens to my Ruger AC556 at that point or do the beneficiaries control what happens to it at that point? I’m trying to decide if adding my property the trust is a good idea or not. I would like for my dad to have access to the gun but, I don’t want to loose it if something should happen to him. Thanks
Disclaimer: I’m not an attorney, but my father is, and has drafted trusts (including my NFA trust). Typically the settlor (or grantor) has the power to amend or revoke the trust, and add/remove property. Normally, if the trust is yours, you would be the grantor, and then name yourself and your father as a trustee, which gives you both access to the property of the trust. You would also designate beneficiaries, ensuring there’s language that gives said beneficiaries the necessary control to modify the trust after your passing.
Basically, it comes down to how the trust is written. You should definitely consult an attorney familiar with trust law in your state.
In my gun trust, I had the option to decide which guns would pass to which beneficiary or I could split it 50/50 (I have 2 kids). Can he designate that you be the beneficiary of that gun?