what to do about brother in law?

Tell Dad about the conversation with the BIL and then give Dad a nice Jennings or something similar to leave to the BIL.
 
They are your dad's guns now. I'd let him know what's going on. He may spell it out to your BIL - they will be left to you, period. He may even give you one now. It's also possible that he would like for your BIL to have one, though it doesn't sound like it. I wouldn't worry too much about it as long as your dad knows what's going on.

In my case my family is lucky, my dad has 3 sons & a daughter that shoot as well as my BIL who also shoots and is a great guy. My dad has put a lot of thought into who will inherit which guns. It will go down exactly as he wishes. I keep telling him it doesn't matter anyway because ancient Mexicans said the world ends in 2012 and we'll probably all go out together. (That's a joke but...who knows?)
 
I was the only one of four kids in my family that has any interest in firearms, at all. Dad had three guns, one of which I bought so we could shoot together, which we did. On his death I got the three guns with no reservations, since everyone thought I should have them. They had no collector value, only sentiment attached.

Compare that to my mother-in-law, who was expressly told that the (many) hunting guns from her Grandfather would be evenly distributed when he passed away, but got none. She is still bitter about it, since any gun received would have been a link to her grandfather and something he liked to do. It would have been carefully cleaned, oiled, and put away for one of her grandsons to hunt with. We have pictures of her Grandfather and friends from their hunting trips in Michigan, with a stringer of deer between two trees like they were trout, surrounded by the happy hunters. There were also shotguns in the estate, and none of the firearms have ever been seen again.

It makes sense to talk about the inevitable when your Dad is of sound mind and body--and consider yourself, too. What happens if you go to the big range in the sky before Dad does? Make sure your wife or kids are listed in the will in that event. Talk about the arrangements now, such as who gets power of attorney if he goes into a nursing home or is unable to handle his affairs.

In addition, any objects of value to the estate, need to be protected from pilferage. There are many horror stories of relatives/neighbors/care workers swooping in while the body is still warm and carrying off everything they can, be it a coin collection, stamp collection, tools, you name it, before the will is dusted off.
 
My late FIL had a lot of guns but his son (my BIL) pawned them off for drugs. Then my BIL died from an over dose of heroin.
I have all my guns listed on a spreed sheet and one column on the spreed sheet designates who my guns go to in the event of my early demise. I only had one daughter so mine are being split up between my grandson and granddaughter. There are some that I haven't designated because it makes no difference to me who gets them. I will let my daughter and son-in-law make that decision. :D
If I get to where I can't shoot or properly take care of my guns, I will give them away myself.
 
hell on relatives

have you a lawyer or your father.get copy of will.amazing how wills disapear.
a good friend died and left his guns to his son,the son came down south and got the pistols and flew north.left the rifles till later,when he could drive down.the sister kept them.he wont get them now.If you could gett them in joint ownership that would be way to go.lack of a lawyer will cause great trouble. you would not want this bil to get gun and kill your sister.sounds like he wants the uniform and -to sell.been there had it done loaned german puckel helmet to sil sold it and laughed.he ain't married to my daughter any more.
 
Damn! Remind me to sell all my guns before the vultures start circling! :(

All you guys who are feeling old and faint remember the NRA takes donations. Come to think of it I may leave EVERYTHING to the NRA. :D
 
A trust is apparently more bullet proof than a will, but I am going off secondhand info. I croak, my wife decides who gets what, and there isn't really that much to worry about, especially with only one child for stuff to go to besides her.
Everyone on my side of the family is long gone, even my brother, so there will be no arguments whatsoever.
I agree - give stuff to people you want to have things BEFORE the end, and whenever the end comes, there will be one or two persons who will go in the deceased's house, despite any will, and will simply make valued heirlooms disappear.
 
Here when my dad passed was just me and my 2 brothers and my dads ideas. Who wants this or that and swaps. My wifes dad passed and 3/4 of the guns went poof before the estate we where managing was done.
 
Rem870hunter---
So is your brother-in-law making trouble for the estate?

Since your father's will is pretty specific I'd just ignore your brother-in-law if you can but I don't know how insistent/vicious/troubled he might be or what your family dynamic is.
 
Armoredman....The trustee is Mom..who's still living..thank God. years ago a few things were given. Mom is left everything of his. However the Codicils (first was done in 1998..i was 24 or 25 then) are specific that i get ALL.

Radom very sorry...
 
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rem870hunter, I see no mention of estate inheritance tax on this thread, and I have no knowledge or experience in the matter, just a question that was created while reading this thread. If the guns are in your father's will, how is the value calculated and included as part of the estate's total value? Will the recipient of any part of the estate be responsible for paying the tax?

As I understand it, one way around this is to have the guns gifted to the desired recipient. I read that the current gift limit per year per person is $15,000. If your father's guns are worth $15,000 or less, he can gift them to you and neither party pays a tax. You can either take possession and safeguard them, or leave them with your father if you make them inaccessible to anyone but yourself, including your father. They would belong to you. You have the only key to any locks as well as the right to choose who you want to allow use of any gun. If you leave them with your father (so he doesn't feel he has "lost" them), I would suggest you obtain an insurance policy that specifically covers the loss in case of fire or theft. Your father might have homeowner's insurance but it generally, if at all, only covers an amount that won't match the total value of the guns, and a deductible that renders at least one of them uncovered.
 
My parents were once avid hunters and had a closet full of firearms, and over the years a few had been sold off to cover bills. Originally they had said that when they pass, I was to get the guns. Now enter my hair-triggered, explosive tempered sister, out of the air force several years and now divorced, who my parents were always afraid to say no to, says she wants mom's guns, even though she can't shoot long guns due to a bad neck and back, AND HAS NEVER HUNTED, by choice. I contested, and now mommy and daddy, to make nice with her, said that we had to agree with each other who can get what after they are gone. It's not going to be pretty as she already wants the house, etc. I am not looking forward to that day...
 
Greybeard, your parents should make their own decisions about who will get what, independent of you and your sister. They should then each make up wills, setting forth exactly what goes to which offspring, give copies of their wills to the family lawyer, and be done with it.
 
cdoc42 said:
rem870hunter, I see no mention of estate inheritance tax on this thread, and I have no knowledge or experience in the matter, just a question that was created while reading this thread. If the guns are in your father's will, how is the value calculated and included as part of the estate's total value? Will the recipient of any part of the estate be responsible for paying the tax?

As I understand it, one way around this is to have the guns gifted to the desired recipient. I read that the current gift limit per year per person is $15,000. If your father's guns are worth $15,000 or less, he can gift them to you and neither party pays a tax. You can either take possession and safeguard them, or leave them with your father if you make them inaccessible to anyone but yourself, including your father. They would belong to you. You have the only key to any locks as well as the right to choose who you want to allow use of any gun. If you leave them with your father (so he doesn't feel he has "lost" them), I would suggest you obtain an insurance policy that specifically covers the loss in case of fire or theft. Your father might have homeowner's insurance but it generally, if at all, only covers an amount that won't match the total value of the guns, and a deductible that renders at least one of them uncovered.
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cdoc42 the Codicils of the Will states that the Firearms are separate from anything. No mention of a Tax. NJ Firearms laws state they can be passed to me through a Will and that i'm exempt from paying any fees to do so. In the 3rd Codicil the BIL is listed as getting 1 of the pistols.
(It's not the Springfield 1911 in 45 acp that he asked for in 2002)..as long as 1 he's still married to my sister and 2 he can legally possess firearms.
 
Here are my thoughts.
1. First, before your dad dies, make sure that YOU are somehow the only one to gain access to the guns. You need to be worried about this both prior to his dying and just after his death. Take the guns and secure them.
2. Second, I wouldn't have any discussions with the Thug about your father's guns. Something's wrong with a guy who threatens his brother-in-law with physical harm to get a gun that is Willed to you.
3. Third, it sounds like you are in a restrictive handgun state. Make sure you have a plan for the guns transfer correctly to you - consult an FFL in your state.
4. It really would be best for your father to transfer the guns to you while you are living, especially when he no longer has any use for them.
5. If the Brother-in-law threatens you over a gun that is lawfully yours which he is not allowed to own, report it to the police.
 
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