What is a Gun Trust, and When Would I Need One?

Some guns are a little more complicated to own than others. As a legal gun owner in Texas, the last thing you want is to accidentally violate the law and face serious penalties. To make compliance easier, many opt to register their weapons under specialized legal arrangements called gun trusts.

Texas gun trusts clear up a lot of uncertainty by allowing multiple people you select to legally access firearms registered to the trust. This avoids situations where temporarily sharing or transferring guns – even among family – risks breaking the law.

It also helps to remove some of the red tape that can cause your family undue stress when you pass away. In this post, our trust lawyers explain what gun trusts entail, the benefits and drawbacks, and how setting up a customized Texas gun trust with an attorney makes all the difference.

What is a Gun Trust?

A gun trust is a legal arrangement that allows you to register your firearms in the name of the trust instead of as an individual. This offers certain advantages in terms of following procedures around the possession of guns. Here’s how it works:

You create the gun trust and name yourself as the person in charge of it (called the grantor or settlor). Any firearms you legally own can then be put into the trust by changing the registration.

This makes the trust itself technically the legal owner on paper. But in reality, as a grantor, you still have full control and usage rights to guns in the trust. It’s a method to bundle your firearms together under a trust entity you control rather than as individual items under your personal ownership.

A key advantage of a gun trust is that you can include other people, such as family members. This gives them legal access to the firearms under the conditions you specify. Since it’s a revocable trust, you can change who’s included at any time.

In essence, a gun trust lets you register multiple firearms together in one central entity that you establish and administer yourself. It makes sharing access easier while still maintaining responsibility as the founder of the trust overall. The guns don’t go anywhere – it’s just a legal structure for simplified ownership and transfer procedures.

When Would You Need a Gun Trust in Your Estate Plan?

If you own any Title II firearms, you need a gun trust.

The National Firearms Act (NFA) categorizes guns into two classes, Title I and Title II, with different regulations.

If you own any Title II classified firearms, having a gun trust is strongly advised both for proper compliance and to avoid accidental infractions.

Title II firearms include:

• Machine guns
• Short-barreled shotguns/rifles
• Silencers/suppressors
• Destructive devices like grenades
• Any other unconventional weapons

Title II firearms require registration with the ATF. Only the registered individual owner can legally access and use them. Transfers to anyone else, even loans or borrowing, risk severe criminal penalties.

Gun trusts help law-abiding firearm owners follow regulations around restricted weapons and avoid accidentally breaking laws. They also make sharing access with family easier.

Without a trust, you could unintentionally commit a felony if someone else accesses your guns. For example, let’s say you own both a shotgun and a suppressor, which you store in a home safe. Your spouse knows the code, so they can access the shotgun for self-defense if needed.

Technically, this means your spouse is in “constructive possession” of the suppressor too. But suppressors and other National Firearms Act (NFA) weapons can only be used by registered owners. So, without realizing it, you’ve illegally transferred the suppressor, which carries severe penalties.

A gun trust solves this by registering NFA firearms directly to the trust. Then, any “trustees” you designate can legally access guns in the trust. This simplifies sharing firearms in your collection without accidentally breaking federal laws.

Gun trusts also help ensure you can pass restricted guns to beneficiaries smoothly after death. And if local authorities won’t sign paperwork approving an individual purchase, a trust provides an alternative.

Benefits and Drawbacks of Using a Gun Trust in Your Estate

Gun trusts can make possessing firearms easier in some ways. But they also come with drawbacks to consider. Let’s break down key advantages and disadvantages.

The Advantages

• Share access more easily – You can add family or friends to use the guns without complex legal procedures. Anyone named as a trustee gets usage rights.
• Avoid probate after death – Guns in the trust pass directly to beneficiaries you name rather than entering probate. This simplifies transferring ownership.
• Protect against confiscation – If health issues prevent you from legally keeping guns, a named trustee could possess them on your behalf so they aren’t confiscated.

The Disadvantages

• More paperwork – Creating and maintaining a legal trust involves documenting details like trustees, assets, distribution rules after death, and more.
• No shortcut for purchases – Using a trust doesn’t let you skip steps like background checks or taxes when acquiring firearms. The process is the same.
• Trustees must register – Fingerprints and photos are required for all members of the trust, not just you. This eliminates an advantage trusts used to offer.

The key is weighing convenience factors against legal/administrative burdens based on your personal situation with firearm possession and transfers. An attorney can provide guidance specific to your needs and priorities.

ATF Tax Obligations and Compliance

Even though gun trusts are a reliable way to protect your collection, they still require the occasional hoop you’ll need to jump through.

Each time an NFA firearm is transferred or sold, there’s a $200 federal tax per weapon. This tax is paid when filing the required paperwork. Because of this cost, it’s crucial to keep detailed, accurate records and report everything properly.

ATF agents may also perform firsthand inspections. This will involve examining how your weapons are stored, how accessible they are, how you manage your inventory, and so on.

The process, though lengthy and sometimes intrusive, is designed to ensure that all the right boxes are getting checked to ensure that your collection remains transferable and compliant.

Setting Up a Gun Trust in Texas

Creating a legally valid gun trust in Texas doesn’t require becoming an expert in complex legal terminology. Instead, the best approach is to have an experienced trust lawyer handle the process for you.

Here’s all you really need to do from your end:

1. Choose a Trust Name – Pick something easy for you to remember. It could be as simple as using your last name.
2. Select Members & Beneficiaries – Decide who you want to name as additional trustees with firearm access and beneficiaries who can inherit items.
3. List Firearms to be Included – Identify which guns you want covered by the trust terms initially. You can add more later.
4. Provide Personal Information – Supply basic data like your legal name, address, date of birth, etc., to properly identify trust parties.
5. Sign Paperwork – An attorney will prepare the actual trust agreement for your review and signature to formalize it.
6. Submit Documents – Completed trust paperwork gets filed with the ATF, along with fingerprints and photos by trustees.

Our professionals translate all the complex legal language into an airtight trust, protecting your interests and guns properly under Texas law.

Safeguard Your Collection with Confidence

With proper estate planning, NFA firearms collectors gain protection for their collection. Like people who collect stamps, books, or coins, you want to be able to share your passion with the next generation.

Unfortunately, legal requirements make that a little harder for gun owners to do. However, with a trust, you can rest easy knowing that your estate will be handled according to your wishes.

Let us help you with this process. Contact The Titus Law Firm for more information on how you can set up a gun trust.