The ATF will require fingerprints, pictures, and a law enforcement notification for all NFA applications postage marked on or after July 13, 2016. Only you, the creator (settlor) of the trust, must comply with these requirements if you follow the instructions below. The amendment and instructions below apply only to trusts drafted by NFA Lawyers, LLC.

– Download and complete this Amendment

– Get fingerprinted at your local gun shop or detention center

– Obtain passport pictures from your local gun shop or drug store

– Take the following to your dealer when you purchase an NFA weapon

1) A copy of your entire Gun Trust and a blank Assignment of Property
2) A copy of the Amendment you downloaded and completed
3) Fingerprints
4) Passport pictures

– Your dealer will help you fill out any forms. Most dealers also mail any forms for you.

You may shred this amendment upon approval of the NFA application. At this moment, all co-trustees are back on your trust and may possess all NFA weapons in the trust.

If submitting a Form 1 or Form 4 without a dealer, you must mail all of the above requirements to the ATF. A Form 5320.23 and a copy of the Form 1 or Form 4 must also be mailed to your local chief law enforcement officer (CLEO). This person is your local sheriff or constable. Regular mail is perfectly acceptable.

It is a great idea to put all of your firearms into a gun trust, not just NFA weapons. The reasons being as follows. First, trust property does not go through probate court.
What does this mean?

Whenever you pass away, whether with or without a will, your estate must be probated. This means an executor accumulates your assets, pays off any liabilities or debt, and disburses the remainder to your beneficiaries. Your county probate court manages this process.

Any firearms not in your gun trust goes through the probate process. The firearms may therefore become public record. Furthermore, it is easier to challenge the distribution of probate property than it is to challenge property in a trust. A NFAlawyers gun trust specifically defines to whom each and every firearm goes to upon your death. There is nearly no way to attack a trust with such specificity.

Secondly, a gun trust is an excellent estate planning tool. A NFAlawyers trust allows you to specifically devise every firearm, should you choose to do so. For example: You can give your 45 suppressor to your son, your SIG P226 to your daughter, your Les Baer Concept II to your wife, and so on.

Most gun trusts do not provide such flexibility. A gun trust without such a provision might lead to all of your beneficiaries fighting over trust property. It is further unwise to list firearms in your will. You do not have to pay an attorney $1,500 to draft a will including all of your firearms. Even if you did, your firearm collection is fluid. You would have to pay the attorney to constantly make revisions. These issues are not a concern with a NFAlawyers trust.

– /s/Dean Phillips

Do I have to engrave the short barrel rifle or suppressor I made?

Gun forums are rife with debate on whether you must engrave your trust name, city, and state on a NFA weapon you make. Some non-lawyer industry professionals are even under the impression that you do not need to engrave. This article is a final answer to the above question.

You must engrave any NFA weapon you make. Put another way, you must engrave anything you Form 1. A Form 1 is the application to make and register a firearm. This is the Form you submit to make a suppressor, short barrel rifle, or short barrel shotgun.

The Code of Federal Regulations defines the term make to “include manufacturing (other than by one qualified to engage in such business under this part), putting together, altering, any combination of these, or otherwise producing a firearm.” 27 C.F.R. 479.11. “You, as a manufacturer, importer, or maker of a firearm, must legibly identify the firearm as follows:

By engraving, casting, stamping (impressing), or otherwise conspicuously placing or causing to be engraved, cast, stamped (impressed), or placed on the frame, receiver, or barrel thereof certain additional information. This information must be placed in a manner not susceptible of being readily obliterated, altered or removed. For firearms manufactured, imported, or made on and after January 30, 2002, the engraving, casting, or stamping (impressing) of this information must be to a minimum depth of .003 inch. The additional information includes:

• (i) The model, if such designation has been made;
• (ii) The caliber or gauge;
• (iii) Your name (or recognized abbreviation) and also, when applicable, the name of the foreign manufacturer or maker;
• (iv) In the case of a domestically made firearm, the city and State (or recognized abbreviation thereof) where you as the manufacturer maintain your place of business, or where you, as the maker, made the firearm…      27 C.F.R. 479.102(a)(2).

The ATF further clarified its position on engraving in ATF Rule 2013-3, dated July 10, 2013. This Rule states, “The manufacturer, importer, or maker must legibly and conspicuously place on the frame, receiver, barrel, or pistol slide (if applicable) his/her own name (or recognized abbreviation) and location (city and State, or recognized abbreviation of the State)…

Not only is the law crystal clear on this matter, but the penalty for noncompliance is harsh. “Any person who violates or fails to comply with any provisions of this chapter shall, upon conviction, be fined not more than $10,000, or be imprisoned not more than ten years, or both.” 26 U.S.C. 5871.

I cannot stress enough that you must engrave your trust name, city, and state on any NFA weapon you make. It is the law.

– /s/Dean Phillips

ATF 41P Update

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 trust

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 co-trustee amendment provided with your trust listing only your name
• Get fingerprints and a 2×2 picture taken
• Notify your CLEO (chief law enforcement officer) of your NFA application
• Mail in your application, trust, amendment, fingerprint card, and picture

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 that amendment. 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

How do you execute your gun trust?

We have a lot of clients ask, “How do I initiate my gun trust after receiving it from you?” In other words, how do I put the trust into effect? This procedure is called executing the trust. A gun trust becomes valid only after it is properly executed.

In order to execute your NFA Lawyers gun trust, you must perform the following steps:

• 1. Print out the entire trust you received from us by email
• 2. Take the trust to a notary. Notaries are persons authorized by law to take oaths. You may find notaries at a local UPS Store, FedEx Kinkos, bank, or courthouse. Many offices have a secretary on staff that is a notary.
• 3. You and two witnesses sign the gun trust in front of the notary. The two witnesses may be any two persons the age of majority, who are not beneficiaries of the trust. For example, witnesses may be two friends or two complete strangers, such as two people at the UPS Store.

Co-trustees and beneficiaries do not need to sign your gun trust.

4. Your gun trust is now valid, similar to a contract or a will. You do not need to register the trust. NFA Lawyers does not need a copy of your executed trust. Simply store your trust in a safe place and make copies.

Silent Shooting,
Dean Phillips