What Estate Planners Need to Know About Firearms

Abstract

Estate planning professionals must familiarize themselves with national and state gun laws and use approved estate planning techniques to represent clients effectively who own or are interested in owning firearms. Failure to comply with national and state laws can lead to fines of up to $250,000 and 10 years in prison. This article aims to educate estate planning professionals on how to protect their client’s ownership, transfer, and possession rights of National Firearms Act (NFA) weapons, while alive, when incompetent, and at death. In addition, this article addresses how to protect a client’s family members and friends from illegally possessing or transferring NFA classified weapons during and after the owner’s lifetime.

Keywords: wills, trusts, estate planning, firearms, guns, machine guns, NFA, National Firearms Act, gun trusts

JEL Classification: K11