Firearms in your Will (in Mass)

traveler57

traveler57

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Looking for what other people have done.

Question is how to leave your firearms in your will.
Senario is- wife does not have FID/LTC, and kids are only 8-12 now.
I assume that my wife could not "keep" the firearms as she will not have an LTC-A.
My idea is to leave them specifically to a friend with LTC-A with a kind of "trust" where they would give the firearms to my kids when they reach 21 and have their LTC.
This might work if I trust my friend.
But what about my friend living out of state. Once he has the guns, can he give them back to my kids living in Mass? As long as they have the required LTC.
I guess the question is- will this meet the requirements of inherited guns, even though their will be a 9-13 year wait?

Key is that I would hate to have my many collectable guns sold for $100 to someone taking advantage of my widow.
So I want to do something to make sure this does not happen.

What have any of you done for your will? If you have done nothing specific in your will, then it will simply be transferred to your spouse with the rest of your estate.

In the process of updating my will and this topic came up.
 
I believe the beneficiaries have a grace period to become licensed, whether it's 90 or 180 days I'm not sure. There's a post in the laws section here with links where you can find the info.
 
I went though this in New Jersey which is also very restrictive in firerm's ownership. After reviewing with our state police Firearm's Licensing Unit, it was determined that the family member who was willed the firearm did not need to apply for a FID card. However, in NJ, the FID card is only required for firearm's purchasing and not the sole possession.
 
Savage110FP said:
I believe the beneficiaries have a grace period to become licensed, whether it's 90 or 180 days I'm not sure. There's a post in the laws section here with links where you can find the info.
Click to expand...

NEW RESIDENTS have 60 days in which to apply for a license.

Any in-state beneficiary would need to have a license at the time the firearm is received. The executor/trix of the estate is authorized to transfer firearms as part of the settling of the estate.

As it takes a few months to file all the paperwork, there is ample time for a beneficiary to get a license - IF the COP is willing to issue, of course......

My firearms are to be distributed per specific bequests in the will. A testamentary trust would work for beneficiaries who are presently minors.
 
Our lawyer set up a trust for my collection to become my son's if something were to occur. It's a rather complex detail of storage, payments and legal requirements as well as dealing with the sale and disposal if ultimate transfer is not possible. I think it's probably the single most complex part of the will.
 
Thanks for all the info. Yes, I had gone through the MGLs a bit, but was now looking for what others had actually done in terms of their wills.

Looks like 27 CFR 478.30(a) covers my wife or my friend taking the guns per my will. But wife has zero interest in an LTC.

Looks like MGL Ch. 140 S. 129C(n) gives my kids 180 days to get their LTC. But being only 8 years old, I doubt if my chief will make an exception.....

I just thinking on how does the law treat having my guns in a trust in Maine at my friends house for ten years, and then him giving them to my kids then? Can the inheritance/gun laws account for the 10 year inbetween my death and the bequest of the guns back to my kids?

Scrivener- I will look into the testamentary trust. Thanks.

I will start with my family lawyer and then consider if I need another hour or two from one the Gun lawyers to get the trust exactly correct. (Chris-your post is what I will do also.)

Patriot- Why do I care after I'm gone? Some are my father's and grandfather's guns, and some are WWII, and some are just valuable. My sons would fully value all of these. Plus, I would hate to see some wanker get my guns and pay my wife 5 cents on the dollar....just me maybe.....
 
You *could* always name a fellow NES'r as temporary custodian of your armory.

Like, oh, I don't know, someone you shared a table with at the GOAL banquet in May? A fellow bidder, even? [wink]
 
IANAL, but how does this sound? Leave them to your kids with the proviso that your (trusted & licensed) friend have the posession and reasonable use of them until such time as the kids are properly licensed. If for some reason the kids cannot take possession of them, then the friend pays the kid the fiar market value of the guns. Thank heavens my kids are old enough that this is no longer an issue for me.

Ken
 
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