I’ve looked here and a couple of other places - but no one seems to address this (which may be an answer in and of itself).
At any rate - are there any guidelines or advice one should follow when NAMING a trust for NFA purposes?
ETA: I’m an idiot and had originally typed my question as “…when CREATING a trust for NFA purposes?” instead of “…when NAMING a trust for NFA purposes?”. Sorry about that. Jabroni gives some great info though on forming a trust…
Cpt. Dooley, Here’s a few of my suggestions and a few details from my NFA Trust experience. To start, here are a few guidelines that helped me:
1. Research The National Firearms Act
It's not a bad idea to read up on the NFA. It's responsible of you to know the law in which you are abiding by. It will be overwhelming at first, but take your time and try to write down what questions you have. This list can be used as a questions guide. I scratched off each question as I found the answers later on.
You can download the NFA Handbook on the ATF website here:
http://www.atf.gov/publications/firearms/nfa-handbook/
it’s a 10.1MB download, but it’s a good reference tool. There is a lot of other stuff in there that you may not be interested in at first. Nonetheless, knowledge is power.
Also, gotm4 put up an extremely helpful post. Find the thread here:
https://www.m4carbine.net/showthread.php?t=7410
Once you’ve drafted a few questions and are ready to get the ball rolling on getting a Trust, you can move to the next step.
2. Find a Good Lawyer (If possible, one you Trust:D)
I would first recommend doing a bit of research on the lawyers in your area that offer NFA Trusts. Hopefully, by now you've read before, that creating your own trust yourself is not recommended [i](Some find it debatable. However, I feel more comfort in having a licensed lawyer who can defend me and the document if need be. Also, I've heard of more problems with self-made Trusts rather than lawyer made.)[/i]. Maybe meet or talk with a few to get a feel for 'em and see what their prices are. If you aren't completely comfortable with any local lawyers, consider broadening your search.
Luckily for me, I found Sean Cody (Houston) who specializes in NFA Trusts and is an excellent guy to deal with. I found a few others who offer NFA Trusts, but Sean Cody is rather involved in the gun/shooting world. It makes me feel better dealing with a guy who does a fair amount of shooting and really seems to be looking out for my best interest. Also, he's in close proximity of me, which is nice in case I need to talk to him face-to-face.
If possible, find someone who is experienced with shooting and stays up-to-date on the laws of gun ownership. I feel confident that if an issue were to ever arise pertaining to my NFA Trust, Mr. Cody would do everything he could to protect me and my rights. Ultimately, find someone you feel is qualified and someone you are comfortable with.
After contacting Mr. Cody, he sent me a draft of the Trust so I could review it and take a look for myself. After reading the Trust, it brought me to the next topic.
3. Ask Questions
Before choosing a Trust, ASK QUESTIONS. The best thing you can do is be educated on how the NFA Trust works. Try to think about the various situations and scenarios that would make knowing your Trust beneficial. For example, maybe you have questions about storage requirements, the powers of additional trustees or maybe clarification on a section in the Trust. Don't be afraid to ask any questions at any time. It's the job of the lawyer to explain it to you and your duty to walk out of that office with a full understanding.
When you are face-to-face with your lawyer, that should be the time to add or modify certain factors to your document if need be. As for naming, your last name is typically used for that [i](Example: "Jones Trust" or "Thompson Trust")[/i]. You can name it whatever you like, but this is the status quo. This is the best time to make sure you are comfortable and have a complete understanding before applying your signature.
After you have been educated and are comfortable with the NFA Trust, you can now slap on your John Hancock and.....
4. Acquire Your Trust
Congratulations. You can now work on acquiring NFA items. Hopefully at this point you have asked your lawyer how to use this document to get such items. Be sure to amend your Trust when anything new is added. Keeping it up to date is of the utmost importance.
Conclusion
These are just a few things off the top of my head at the moment. I would like to see more people put up their experiences with NFA Trusts on here (Maybe a whole 'nother thread to be made). I would like to hear what other peoples experience's were with NFA Trusts.
To be honest, I did alot of reading and research prior to getting my Trust. I learned a great deal from M4C alone. Of all the forums I deal with, I still feel that this is one of the most mature and helpful places to be. Hope this was beneficial to you, and I hope there is more feedback to come.
Great info, Jabroni.
I am in the same boat as the good Captain, and presently have an email in to Sean Cody as I am fairly close proximity to him as well. Hope to hear back from him soon.
I’m getting the SBR bug and it’s starting to wear me out.
That is really great info and I really appreciate you taking the time to post it.
The entire time I was reading it I was thinking, “None of this answers my question - why did he type all this out?” So I went back and read my post and realize I left a couple key words out…
Again, thank you for the info, it actually very nicely consolidates what I had been finding in various places. I apologize my mis-typed question caused this confusion.
The advice I was looking for was really on naming your trust - are there any guidelines or advice anyone has on what you should name your trust?
From my understanding, there isn’t really too many restrictions for the naming of the Trust. I could call it “The Jabroni Trust” if I wanted to or even the “Megatron Rules! Trust” might be desired by some. Either way, it’s something that you can consult your lawyer on upon drafting the document. He will most likely steer you towards appropriate nomenclature.
I’ve heard of guys with similar last names just adding their middle initial (or name) for the title of the Trust (ex. John Bringham Jones Trust or John B. Jones Trust" or furthermore, “J. B. Jones Trust”). This is just for easier clarification as to who the settlor of the Trust might be. There might be some clever names for Trusts out there, I’ve just never bothered to find out.
Thanks for all the help - that’s really what I was looking for. I’ve seen some guys that used “Revocable Living Trust” as part of the name and I didn’t know if all the verbiage was necessary. I was thinking if it’s getting engraved on the side of a gun I’d want it as short as possible. Using a name that would match the ID of the trustees (like our last name so it matches both the wife and my IDs) seems to make the most sense.
Can anyone give me an idea as to what a lawyer charges to setup a living trust for NFA use??
Mine was $195
In what state, my man? What state?
My lawyer suggested that I go with B.A. HOGG TR. “TR” is recognized as “Trust” just as “Inc” is for “Incorporated.” This way you can engrave it per ATF regs. The bank also opened the trust account as B.A. HOGG TR.
Check with your lawyer.
I’m in TX and have been quoted more than double that!!
I’d make the name as short as possible. You’ll have more options for engraving the name on a firearm if you ever form 1 anything (long names might not fit in some places) and you might be charged less because some places charge by the letter.
I doubt I’ll ever have proper use for a trust. But if I did I’d call it something like the “In God We Trust” or something creative I come up with. Since you can basically call it anything you want, creativity is fun.
i used my whole name, and could only fit it on the right side fire control group.
I’ll second this –
I bought a factory SBR (no engraving needed), so I didn’t think much of it when I set up my trust, but mine has a long name and will be a pain in the ass to engrave someday when I SBR an existing gun…
only thing holding me back was a really long wait and paying $100 transfer
I talk to one of the Class III FFL here in OKLA. and he said he can get me a trust set up for $40.00. One other guy here will do it for free if you buy a CAN from him.
depending on the price of the can, it could possibly be a great deal!
I used my 3 initials for the trust name specifically because of the engraving guidelines. It fit nicely in the trigger guard of my AR.
Jeremy
I recently set up a NFA trust and the prices range from $400-600 in my state.