Leaving my firearms in a will?

A

Armando B

New member
My wife and I are making up quick wills in case something happens to either one of us (we have twin baby boys). :(

As we were listing our assets, it occured to us...what about our firearms (she has some of her own too).

Can firearms be beqeauthed(sic) in a will to minor children (under the direction of the executor)?

Does each firearm need to be listed individually?
 
Good question.
Since they are part of your estate, I would imagine ownership would be transferred like all other assets and held in some kind of "trust" until they are of legal age to possess firearms.
:confused:
 
I assume that minor children would have a gaurdian appointed? In some case the guardian controls the dispositon of property for minors. I Would visit a lawyer to get those answers and have stuff drawn up that could protect the property you wish to leave them. I know when it come to the military insurance proceeds you can leave the insurance proceeds to the minors but the guardian will have contol of the funds. The only way to avoid this is set up a trust for the children and make the trust the beneficiary of the insurance. A lawyer could probably do something similar for you.
 
You need to have a testamentary trust set up for your children, in order to provide for your children should you and your wife die in a common disaster. It's better to put such things in writing while you're alive, than to depend on happenstance, should the "worst" happen. I would never give an executor/executrix absolute judgment of how my estate's assets would be handled for the benefit of my children. Be specific about your wishes.

The wisdom of a testamentary trust extends beyond just the disposition of firearms. See a lawyer. Pay the $$ and get it done correctly.
 
Lawyers are a better way to go. Who else knows the minutia like they do?
As an aside, you would want so way to make sure they are maintained by somebody who knows what they are doing (cleaning and oiling) and some way to keep them from being sold before the kids are adults.
 
Trust would do the trick, that keeps the guardians or executors for minors in line. In fact there is a local lawyer who talks about trusts for retired folks so they can leave it to the kids but utilize until thier deaths.
 
All good advice, but

assuming these are hand guns... Can handguns legally be transfered to them via a will? What if the boys are out of state residents when they come of age or would that matter?

I think a better question would be...how do you handle giving a weapon to someone not directly related in case of your death? I guess the executor or their rep would / could ship the said gun to an FFL for the person receiving it to do the transfer through? This is assuming it was legal in that persons state....
 
This reminds me...

suppose the firearms are to be stored away for a long time without being fired, what would be required to keep them in good shape until the children are of age?


Epyon
 
I don't know where I read this and hopefully someone else can find it but I belive that a bequest of firearms is the one and only time you can take posession of a handgun from a private citizen from another state without going through an FFL.

Unless you live in one of those crappy states like New York that has a crazy permit process it shouldn't be a problem. I've read up there that if you don't have a permit you can't receive them even through a will. I always love it when someone else tells me what I can do with my private property.
 
It is true that

an inherited firearm can be transferred directly from the estate directly to the beneficiary under the will, no FFL involvement is required. Go to the BATFE website and check under FAQs.
 
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