As most of you are aware, the ATF released a final ruling on 41P January 4, 2016. This final regulation is called 41F. The P stood for proposed, F for final.
The implementation date for 41F is July 13, 2016. That means any applications for NFA weapons submitted July 12 are not subject to the 41F requirements. I discuss these requirements in my January 5, 2016 blog post. Here they are again:
- Fingerprints
- Picture
- Notify your CLEO (chief law enforcement officer) of your NFA application
How 41P effects gun trusts
What concerns most of us is the questions of, how does this affect gun trusts? The answer is simple if I drafted your gun trust. Below is the process with my trust to apply for NFA weapons once 41F is in effect.
- Fill out a 41F amendment
- Get two fingerprint cards rolled and two 2×2 pictures taken
- Notify your CLEO (chief law enforcement officer) of your NFA application
- Mail in your application, trust, amendment, fingerprint cards, and pictures
If you follow this process, you will not have to submit any documentation for co-trustees listed in your trust. This is because you removed all co-trustees from your trust by filling out an amendment.
Now, how do you add the co-trustees back onto your trust? Simply shred the 41F amendment once you have your approved tax stamp in hand, and all of your co-trustees are right back on the trust. The ATF even requests that you do not notify them of amendments after your application. They do not want the extra paperwork.
/s/ H. Dean Phillips