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The Gun Trust is a trust that is designed to protect the Settlor/Grantor and Trustees of the trust from violations of the National Firearms Act while ensuring that the assets that are owned by the trust are protected and passed to the beneficiaries of the trust upon the death of the Settlor.

1. Should I register the Items regulated by the National firearms Act as an individual, a trust, an LLC or a Corporation?

This depends on many factors, some of which include whether a local CLEO will sign a form 1 or 4, whether you want more than one person to have the legal capacity to possess the items regulated by the National Firearms Act, whether you want the existence of the entity to be private or public and many other factors that go into this decision.

2. What are the benefits of the Georgia NFA Trust over the Corporate and individual form of ownership?

a. No filing fee or annual fee

b. There are NO requirements that the Trust be filed with the Secretary of State

c. The trust documents and the assets of the trust remain private.

d. No Chief Law Enforcement Officer (CLEO) sign off, no photos, no fingerprints and NO BEGGING the government for permission to exercise your Second Amendment rights! 

e. The ability of anyone who is a trustee to be able to lawfully possess the weapons.

3. Can my friends and I form a Revocable living Trust and put weapons regulated by the National firearms Act into the trust?
Legally you can, but it may not be the best idea. The Settlers/Grantors need to be aware of the potential consequences. Concerns include what happens when/if the friendship ends, where the items regulated by the national firearms act are stored and positive control of the items regulated by the national firearms act. Each Settlor and trustee may have legal liability for the actions of the other so this form of Trust ownership is to be entered into with much careful consideration. The more spoons you put in the chili, the more complicated things get. I generally recommend that each friend get their own individual Georgia NFA Trust.

4. Can I use other self help services to create a trust?
Yes. However, I would point out that I recently had a problem with my home air conditioning system. I could have gotten out my tools and tried to fix it. I would not have been able to fix it, because I don't know how to work on air conditioners. I could have wasted a lot of my time and made a giant mess, but I chose to call my air conditioning repair man. By having me prepare your trust, you have a lawyer available to answer your questions regarding the National firearms Act, I will assist you with preparation of your National firearms Act forms and I will be there to help you whenever you need help. If a do-it-yourself trust is rejected by the BATFE or found to be invalid, they will contact you and you may feel free to call and email me immediately and I will see what I can do to correct the problem.

5. Do I have to file a copy of my Georgia NFA Trust with the State of Georgia?
No. The Georgia NFA Trust does not have to be filed with the City, County or State of Georgia. The only government entity that the trust is filed with is the BATFE when a form 1 or Form 4 is submitted.

6. Does the Georgia NFA trust appear in Law enforcement databases and Records?
No. The Georgia NFA Trust and the items that are regulated by the National Firearms Act are private and known only to the BATFE.

7. Are there any annual reports fees or franchise taxes that are due from the Georgia NFA trust?
No. The state of Georgia does not require the filing of a franchise tax report or other reports to maintain the trust.

8. Is there a benefit to putting Title I (Non NFA) firearms into the trust?
There is no specific benefit to putting title I firearms into a trust except for estate planning. However, a perpetual trust may get the firearms around a California style Assault Weapons ban.

9. I have a dealer who has offered to draft an NFA trust for me. Is that legal or alright?
The dealer could be practicing law without a license as defined at OCGA 5-19-50. Further, the dealer is accepting a lot of liability if the trust is later found to be invalid. If the dealer is using quicken or legal zoom, see the previous story about air conditioner repair at question 4. Basically, the trust may be valid, it may not be valid, but the dealer is accepting a lot of potential liability by doing this if the trust is later found to be invalid.

10 . Will I be the only person who is allowed to use the firearms and items that are regulated by the National firearms Act?
No. The Georgia NFA Trust allows you to name multiple individuals as trustees. They are allowed to possess and use the items regulated by the National firearms Act.

11. What happens if I become incapacitated?
The Georgia NFA Trust contains specific language to deal with the possibility of you becoming incapacitated.

12. Who can be the beneficiary of the Georgia NFA Trust?
Anyone, including a minor child may be a beneficiary of the Georgia NFA Trust. The Georgia NFA Trust has a trustee who will manage the trust assets until the beneficiary reaches either majority or a pre-designated age. The Georgia NFA Trust is designed to protect the assets for a minor beneficiary until the child reaches the age of eighteen or a later date that is selected by the settler. These terms may be amended at any time the settler wishes.

13. Does a Georgia NFA Trust have an effect on the time the BATFE takes to process the form 1s and form 4s for the transfer of items regulated by the National Firearms Act?
It can shorten the registration process because a background check does not take place, but probably will not as long as BATFE is understaffed and behind.

14. What if I live far away and cannot meet you in your office to execute the trust? Can you still set up an NFA trust for me?
Yes, I can set up an NFA Trust for you if you are in the Blue Ridge mountains, cooling your toes in the surf on the Georgia coast, or down here below the gnat line with me.

15. Are there any Downsides to Trust ownership? 
The only downside is the fact that the BATFE may or may not allow a tax free form 5 transfer of the item regulated by the National Firearms Act upon the death of the settler.

16. If I currently own Items regulated by the National Firearms Act, may I transfer them into the trust without paying the transfer tax?
No. This would be a transfer requiring a $200 tax stamp.

17. May I be the only Settlor, Trustee and Beneficiary?
The Georgia NFA Trust is a revocable living trust. That means that the founder of the trust (the Settlor) may be the life trustee and the life beneficiary. However, the beneficiary who takes when the settler dies should be named. A trustee of the trust may not generally also be the beneficiary of the trust.

18. How many people may be a trustee on my Georgia NFA Trust?
There is no limit. However, each trustee has duties and obligations to the trust of which they should be aware.

19. May I remove a Trustee from my Georgia NFA Trust? 
Yes. As a Settlor, the right to remove trustees is reserved in the Georgia NFA Trust. 

20. Will my Beneficiary get the assets of the Trust when I die?
The answer is not simple. If the beneficiaries live in Georgia, and are not otherwise disqualified to possess firearms, then they should. However, if the beneficiary lives in state that does not allow for the possession of Title II firearms, then they would not legally be able to possess them there.

21. May a beneficiary of the trust possess the items regulated by the National firearms Act?
No, only the trustee may possess the items Regulated by the National firearms act. The Trustee must be eighteen years of age to possess the items regulated by the National Firearms Act. The Trustee must be twenty one years of age to purchase items regulated by the National firearms Act.

22. May I amend my Georgia NFA Trust?
The general answer is yes, you may amend the Georgia NFA Trust at any time with few limitations.

23. May I change the name of my Georgia NFA Trust?
This is typically not necessary. However, should it become necessary, the trust, like a corporation, may change its name. The trust may be amended to reflect a name change. This is similar to an individual who owns an item regulated by the National firearms Act getting married and changing her legal name. In this case, the original trust papers should be kept in a safe place.

24. What should I name my Georgia NFA Trust?
You may name it anything you want. "Master Blaster's Shoot 'Em Up Machinegun Trust" may be fun, but it is a lot to engrave on the receiver of a short barreled rifle. I recommend using your surname to keep the name of the Georgia NFA Trust short, simple and easy to engrave.

25. May a trustee live in another state?
Yes. However, the trustee must have the proper BATFE forms to take the items regulated by the National Firearms Act out of the state of Georgia. The BATFE form 5320.29 is the proper form for this. Spreading items regulated by the National Firearms Act across the country creates potential issues due to different laws and regulations in different jurisdictions.

26. What must I submit with my form 1 or form 4 when I am transferring an item regulated by the National Firearms Act into my Georgia NFA Trust?
This is simple.

a. A complete copy of your Georgia NFA Trust

b. A copy of your schedule A

c. A certificate of compliance in duplicate

d. Two copies of your form 1s or form 4s signed in blue ink

e. A check for $200.00 made payable to the BATFE or DOJ with the word transfer, the make, model and serial number of the item being transferred or manufactured

f. Send all of the above to BATFE, NFA Branch, PO Box 530298 Atlanta, GA 30353-0298.

27. Should I open a bank account for my Georgia NFA Trust?
Maybe. In my experience with revocable living trusts there should not be a problem with using a personal check from the Settlor of the trust to pay the $200 tax stamp.  The Settlor is the lifetime beneficiary of the trust, so paying the tax with a personal check is not an ultra vires act, nor does it create a conflict of interest.  Some people like to be very technical and prefer to pay with a postal money order.  Either is fine.

28. You told me about making a Short Barreled Rifle (SBR). What do I have to do to mark the receiver?
If you register an existing receiver as a Short Barreled Rifle (SBR) on a form 1, you must engrave the lower receiver with the name of the trust and the city and state that the trust is located. The receiver must be marked with the name of the manufacturer (the trust name), the city and the state of manufacture. The name of the trust may not be abbreviated absent a letter granting the marking variance from the BATFE.

a. Name of Trust

b. City, State