Gun Trust Information
To draft a trust for you, I will need certain information and the names of certain persons who will be parties to the trust (further explanation below). I will need:
1) Your legal name (first name, middle initial and last name) as it appears on your driver's license and/or passport. You will be the Settlor and the primary Trustee. The Settlor (or Settlors if you chose to name a co-Settlor) have the power to buy and sell property for the trust, including NFA items and also have the power and to manage the trust. The Settlor(s) are considered “Responsible Persons” for purposes of ATF rules and therefore the Settlor(s) must submit additional information to the ATF every time a purchase is made (fingerprints, photos and a Responsible Person Questionnaire).
2) The same information as above for anyone you want to be an "Additional Trustee". Additional Trustees will have the power to use and possess trust property (i.e. the NFA items owned by the trust) without your presence - in other words, they can "borrow" the items with your permission. However, they will NOT have the power to purchase or sell property for the trust or otherwise make manage the trust or make decisions insofar as they pertain to firearms. Unfortunately, the ATF still considers these to be “Responsible Persons” under the new ATF rules so they will need to submit fingerprints, photos and/or a Responsible Person Questionnaire. For this reason most people do not name anyone as “Additional Trustees”.
3) The name of a "Successor Trustee". The Successor Trustee should be someone whom you want to administer the Trust in the event the you cease to serve as Trustee (i.e. you die or are incapacitated or become ineligible to serve as Trustee). The Successor Trustee does not actually become a Trustee until something happens to you so until that time the Successor Trustee does not have authority to possess/use/transfer/sell property of the Trust. The Successor Trustee should be someone that you would trust to administer the Trust. If you have a Last Will and Testament, you may choose to appoint the Executor/Administrator under your Will as the Successor Trustee.
4) The name of at least one "Beneficiary" but preferably two or more. Before the Trust terminates the Successor Trustee may sell any Trust property subject to regulation under the NFA and distribute the proceeds from the sale to the Beneficiaries. Therefore the Beneficiaries should be whomever you want to have the proceeds from the sale of the Trust property. Many people name their children as Beneficiaries, if they have children or brothers, sisters, friends, etc. Keep in mind that the Beneficiaries do not have the right to possess Trust property, only Trustees have this right, so the Beneficiaries should never possess, use or have access to Trust property without the direct supervision, consent and presence of a Trustee. Because persons named as Beneficiaries cannot use or possess Trust property, they may be minors.
5) The name of your Trust (can be anything but I suggest keeping it short - "(your last name) Trust" for example, or “(your initials) Trust”).
6) The denomination and serial number of a dollar bill that you want to initially fund the trust. Under Texas law a trust must own something in order to be valid. Because your trust will not legally own any NFA items until the ATF approves the transfer, we need something for the trust to own to "fund" it - so that there is property owned by the trust until the first NFA transfer to the trust is approved. There are no minimum requirements on what the trust must own, so a 1 dollar bill is sufficient.
Getting Started
If you have questions about any of this, please contact me. Once I have your info and payment, I will draft your trust and send it to you ASAP. The easiest way to pay is via my website (www.metroplexguntrust.com) - under the CONTACT link there is a Pay Now button for credit card payment. The price is $200 but I offer a discounted fee of $150 for military, law enforcement, firefighters and first responders.
This includes drafting the original trust document but also free amendments and changes for 6 months. Also, at any time in the future should your FFL or anyone else ever have a question and need to talk to me or if you have general questions about how to properly administer the trust, etc., you can always contact me and I do not charge anything for such follow-up consultations.