Discussing inheritance and your estate plan early avoids surprises and prepares your children to manage the wealth and responsibilities they’ll inherit.
EVEN WITH ATF41F, there are still many great reasons to own Title II weapons in a Trust:
- Flexible & gives peace of mind
- Multiple person ownership
- Add new owners at any time
- Property protection
- Abiliy to pass trust assets to future generations
(Not just your children, but their children and their children)
In the state of Florida, civilians are legally allowed to own restricted weapons, known as Title II weapons, which are sold by Class 3 dealers. However, certain procedures must be followed to ensure that ownership of these weapons complies with state and Federal Law.
What is a Title II (class 3) weapon?
- Short Barrel Rifles (any rifle with a barrel length less than 16″, or overall length less than 26″)
- Short Barrel Shotguns (any shotgun with a barrel length less than 18″, or overall length less than 26″)
- Suppressors
- Fully Automatic Firearms (any weapon which shoots automatically more than one shot by a single function of the trigger)
In order to legally own a Title II weapon, approval must first be given by the ATF. This approval comes in the form of a “tax stamp”, which is affixed to the form that you will send to the ATF requesting permission to own the weapon. If you are building a Title II weapon, (for example, if you are building a short barrel rifle from an existing lower receiver), you will send a Form 1 to the ATF. If you are purchasing an existing Title II device, (for example, a suppressor), then you will send a Form 4 to the ATF.
Why not use a corporation or LLC?
Some clients have stated that they would rather use a corporation or LLC for owning their weapons. This is a poor choice for several reasons. If you currently own a corporation or LLC, and would just like to add items to your entity, you must remember that if you are doing business through your entity, and that business gets sued, your weapons will now be considered assets of the company and are exposed to possible forfeiture. Even if you are never sued, chances are one day you will either want to sell or close your business, but owning Title II weapons will complicate issues greatly (if you are selling your business that owns a few suppressors, chances are you will have to then draft a gun trust and pay a $200 tax stamp for each item you own to transfer your suppressors from your company to your trust). If you do not currently have a corporation or LLC, then remember that there are annual filing fees, and all information about your company is public record.
Read more related articles here:
Own a Gun? Careful: You Might Need a Gun Trust
Gun Collections Pose Special Estate Problems
Also, read one of our previous Blogs here:
Bequeathing And Inheriting Guns: What To Do With Firearms When Someone Dies
Click here to check out our On Demand Video about Estate Planning.
Click here for a short informative video from our own Attorney Bill O’Leary.
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