Gun trust have grown in popularity in recent years as it allows enthusiast to pass along ownership of a collection to family and friends without having to jump through every bureaucratic hoop. In addition, the trusts allowed a modicum of protection to beneficiaries against ever changing laws on gun ownership particularly in regards to background checks. However new rules, which will go into effect on July 13, 2016, will impose background checks on every “responsible person” in the trust including beneficiaries. Until now, a loophole prevented fingerprinting and approval by local law enforcement of members who would have access to or control over the weapons in the trust. As a result, guns and accessories that would otherwise be tightly controlled, such as machine guns and silencers, were able to pass without the same level of scrutiny faced by normal individuals. But the new rule will remove that advantage and potentially impact a beneficiary’s ability to access the guns in addition to the fact that cost will go up with the ATF estimating an addition $30 million per year in expenses. As a result, if you or a client have recently considered setting up a gun trust, act now to avoid the new regulations and save some money in the process.
See Rebecca Flewelling, It Will Soon Get Tougher To Create A Firearms Trust, Private Wealth, March 30, 2016.
Special thanks to Jim Hillhouse and Joel Dobris for bringing this article to my attention.
