Can a beneficiary be in sole possession of an NFA firearm, i.e. without a Trustee in the vicinity? The law of trusts permits this. But the liability of the Trustee allowing this is problematic, and the fact that this is an NFA firearm is kind of unsettling.
When asked, ATF general counsel was unsure. One colleague appoints a number of Trustees… but this is clumsy and impractical – you might not want to appoint every potential current beneficiary as a Trustee.
Another GunDocx lawyer suggested this. “Couldn’t you just appoint the beneficiary as an temporary trustee? Article Three of a full GunDocx Trust allows the Trustee to name a cotrustee or Indepenent Specia Trustee for convenience in administration.”
Voila! Case closed. This solution took a slight tweak to the GunDocx trust language and adding some titles in two ancillary forms included with Silver and Gold Edtions of GunDocx Trusts to document the appointment. Now, if a GunDocx Trust trustee wants to allow a beneficiary to take possession of a firearm, even a Title II (NFA) firearm, he or she simply appoints the beneficiary as a temporary trustee. The trusteeship terminates when the firearm is returned. This is simpler and cleaner than the other solutions presented and it lessens the primary Trustee’s liability and protects the Special Trustee-Beneficiary too.
Guess you can be too close to the problem. That’s why its great to have friends and colleagues… and a growing number of attorneys using GunDocx(TM) software. It takes a village.
