Four Benefits of Establishing a Gun Trust as Part of Your Estate Plan

Estate Planning is something that should be on everyone’s mind – regardless of age. If you are part of the estimated 30% of Americans who own a gun, you should include a gun trust as a part of your estate plan. A gun trust is a specifically-created trust that can hold firearms that are controlled by the National Firearms Act (NFA), which can include shotguns, rifles, machine guns, silencers, and other explosive devices. Having a gun trust can help you keep certain firearms in the family and can provide many benefits to gun owners. Here are four benefits of having your gun trust as a part of your estate plan:

You Can Share Possession of Firearms

Because you can name multiple trustees, a gun trust allows more than one person to possess and use the firearms included in the trust. Only the sole owner can use weapons excluded from the document.

Your Guns Avoid Probate

When a person dies, their assets go through probate – unless their assets are in trusts. Probate is the process of verifying a person’s will and ensuring their assets go to the correct beneficiaries. When you put your assets into a trust, they bypass the probate process; meaning there is almost complete certainty that your firearms will be possessed by whom you specified.

You Prevent an Unintentional Felony

By creating a gun trust, you ensure that your firearms are being transferred and possessed per applicable laws. Issues with gun ownership can arise from a variety of situations, such as: transporting them to a different state where regulations vary, a modification of the gun making it illegal, or circumstances where your named beneficiaries become ineligible for gun ownership. With a gun trust, you can protect your family members by including specific clauses about ownership while simultaneously obeying the law.

Your Firearms Remain in the Family for Generations

One of the most popular benefits to establishing a gun trust is the ability to keep firearms in your family for years to come. A gun trust ensures that the guns are transferred to designated beneficiaries and are not liquidated or sold to cover extenuating costs of processing your estate.

Get in Touch With a Medina County Estate Planning Lawyer

It is never too early to start planning for the future, but many people do not know where to start. The first step in creating your estate plan and establishing a gun trust is getting help from a knowledgeable Brunswick estate planning attorney. The experienced attorneys at Erb Legal LLC will help you begin planning for your future and guide you every step of the way. To schedule a free consultation, call the office at {P:P3:SUB:PHONE}.

Sources:

https://www.thegunwriter.com/12314/the-benefits-of-a-gun-trust/

https://www.americanbar.org/publications/probate_property_magazine_2012/2017/march_april_2017/2017_aba_rpte_pp_v31_2_article_sneeringer_gun_trusts.html