Does anyone have a recommendation or personal experience with a NFA trust attorney in South Carolina (particularly in the upstate region)? I have spoken to a few local attorneys who have been no help at all. One stated he would not do it because he did not think anyone should have those “type weapons” and the other did not know anything about firearms laws, much less NFA laws. I found one attorney; however, his fee was $1000+ and that is too much in my opinion. I greatly appreciate anyone’s help.
Seriously. You really do not need a lawyer for this. There are lots of people out there who have purchased NFA items using a trust. All you need to do is plug in the people you want in the right place, get it notarized and make the purchase.
If you are set on using a lawyer, then the guntrustlawyer.com guys charge around $600 or so to do a trust, which is high imo, but to some it may be worth it.
Ive seen some debates on this on other forums, supposedly the issue with a trust not tailored to your state laws can effect the benificiaries in legally taking possession of the NFA items if something were to happen to the trustee, therefore making the benificiary in contempt of nfa laws. Any input on this?
Your best bet is to either use a lawyer to prepare your trust (I used guntrust lawyer, but he went through a lawyer in my state who was familiar with state law), or to do it yourself on quicken, then have an attorney review it for compliance with state law. IMO those are the only ways to ensure you’re covered.
Caveat Emptor.
Any time you are considering using an attorney you should thoroughly research their background and credentials. Most states have a website wherein you can enter the attorney’s information and find out critical information such as when they passed the bar exam (and therefore how long they have been practicing), citations against them, etc.
As to the question of whether or not to use an attorney for a firearms trust, I personally would not do it any other way. For me, personally, I believe that using a qualified attorney will give you the best end result both in terms of the immediate product (the trust) as well as how the trust and items in it are treated upon your death.
I understand a lot of people stating to use Quicken; however, I believe there is more to the NFA trust than just plugging in names. I know people are using Quicken and being approved because the examiners see a completed trust. The question becomes whether or not the trust is legally binding and correct and will “cover” all it needs to. I have thought about using Quicken to draft a trust, having an attorney review it and then adding what I think is needed in reference to NFA items. The problem is I don’t know exactly what would be needed and I don’t have a copy of a true NFA trust to pull what I need from.
No such thing as an “NFA Trust”. What you want to set up is a revocable living trust. I weighed going through a lawyer or just using Quicken. I think it depends on what state you are in whether one or the other makes the most sense.