"inheridance" questions.

[aguitarestv]

as the title said, i have some questions of some "inherited" firearms. so here it goes, my Farther just passed away a few days ago, had no will, but told me the firearms were mine if anything ever happened to him. so i took possession of the firearms (being the only one in the family with a LTC, and everyone new they were going to me anyhow) am trying to figure out how to get them transferred to me. Never going threw anything like this, is overwhelming to say the least. Any help is greatly appreciated,

Adam

 

[Blueskyguy]

First off, Adam, you have my sincere condolences. Secondly, if you lost your dad just a few days ago, there's plenty of time to handle this. Best situation is if there's some documentation with his collection.

What state are you located in? Some NES'ers are very knowledgable on the topic, and will be eager to help.

 

[Fixxah]

Sorry for your loss. If no paperwork exists, take the guns and Mom to an ffl and transfer them. Except the ones he gave you many years ago on the blue cards, the cards all were destroyed in a flood.

-Proud to be dad every day, a licensed plumber most days, and wish I was a shoemaker on others.

 

[aguitarestv]

We are All from Mass. All the handguns and maybe one of the newer long guns are registered.(were the papers are i have no idea) there are some older long guns that his brothers gave him many years ago. (around 40+) not sure if they have every been registered. They were however surrendered to the police for a short time wile some family issues were sorted out,(again this was maybe 10+ years ago) so i think to be safe, i should try to register them all (unless advised against it)

 

[aguitarestv]

Also to make things a little more complicated, he and my mother divorced wile i was very young. he had been with my step mother for around 28 years, but never legally remarried. so with here name on the mortgage for their house, she gets that, but not sure about the rest of the his property (car which is paid for, firearms and so on)

 

[MA_Shooter]

Check this thread, it will probably answer all your questions - http://www.northeastshooters.com/vbulletin/threads/5804-MA-Gun-Laws-(Fed-amp-MA)-and-Inheritance

If not, feel free to ask any follow up questions after you've had a chance to digest the information.

Sorry for your loss. You can keep the guns safe until you've identified the next move.

Whatever you do, don't take them to the police dept. for 'storage' as you might never get them back.

 

[JRT]

You have them in your possession, this is a good start. Without a will and with a house, car and other property involved this could land in probate court. I wish you the best and what may be all peace and love today may not last, the opportunity to make a money grab often brings out the worst in people. I would consult a probate lawyer and see how you can get ahead of this. Sorry about your Dad, I lost mine in September, think about him every day.

 

[Len-2A Training]

Adam, very sorry about your loss.

I'm offering the following advice based on what you stated above. If anything you posted isn't exactly as you posted it, that could change things. Keep in mind IANAL!

- If you Father TOLD YOU (especially if others heard it) that you were to get the guns, it is almost as good as having it in writing (as long as nobody fights you over it).

IFF this is true, you now OWN THEM. Just file eFA-10s as "registration" (not inheritance as shown on their website-they want too much info that they are NOT entitled to) . . . info on gun and you, NO info on source. DONE.

For everything else, read MA laws on intestate inheritance. Things get tricky with no will and no marriage.

[Side story example: Neighbor lost her 1st Husband (heart attack @ 45), they had two children. She remarried but never put her 2nd Husband on the deed. Daughter lived there forever (hated step-father). Wife died of cancer. Daughter kicks step-father out of the house 2 days after her funeral. TTBOMK she inherited the house and everything else. I was friends with all of them, so I heard every side of the story.]

 

[jtnf]

EOPS/FRB/AG don't collectively care whether something was never registered, they're pretty happy getting unknown guns registered now.
The guns are unassigned assets of your dad, so they must be accounted for in the probation of the estate.
The executor has 180 days after the probate is completed to disburse the guns, the executor need not be a licensed individual, and the transfer must occur at an FFL.
If the gun owner had an explicit assignment on paper, with named assignees (and this CAN be generically worded, like "All my guns go to my nephew George") then the assignee just takes possession (even across state lines) with no muss, fuss, or FFLs.


--Edit - IANAL, either. The above is grokked mainly from this site, over several threads and interaction with other members. Do you have witnesses to you father giving you assignment of the guns? If so then that may bear all the weight of paper as LenS said.

 

[aguitarestv]

well its tricky because there is no named executor of estate. as for the house, my step mothers name is on the mortgage so she keeps the house, but she cant afford to live there alone so my step sister will be adding her name to the mortgage. mortgage lawyer says once that happens that all my fathers dept will go away (as long as we keep paying the minimum amounts on his cc's until that action is complete). all that is left are the firearms, car (which everyone wants me to have) and some tools that will go to my brother.

 

[MisterHappy]

Sorry for your loss.

I understand that it's not a time for clarity of thought, but you have a better situation than many.

1) Dad wanted to you have the guns
2) Everyone knew dad wanted you to have the guns
3) You are licensed
4) You have physical possession of the guns
5) Everyone knows you do, and nobody had a problem with it

You have no problems to this point.

Now, read what the others (especially LenS) said.

Worst case, take them to your local FFL, and have them run through the system; best case, dad, having foresight, 'blue carded' them to you (as mine did), back in the day.

As a practical matter, unless they're NFA items, it's not a huge deal. Just make sure that you have the locks/safe space to lawfully store them.

 

[aguitarestv]

thanks for all the replies. no there are no NFA items. i do like the idea of just registering the guns with the FA10 forms (believe you can even do it online now) but i thought that that you could only register 4 guns a year, unless you file them as an inheritance then the numbers doesn't matter? so with there being 8 guns all together, would i be better of filing them under the inheritance form to do all 8 or can i just register all 8 regardless? and were there is no legal executor of estate can i still file the inheritance form?

 

[Len-2A Training]

thanks for all the replies. no there are no NFA items. i do like the idea of just registering the guns with the FA10 forms (believe you can even do it online now) but i thought that that you could only register 4 guns a year, unless you file them as an inheritance then the numbers doesn't matter? so with there being 8 guns all together, would i be better of filing them under the inheritance form to do all 8 or can i just register all 8 regardless? and were there is no legal executor of estate can i still file the inheritance form?

Whoever told you that you can only register 4 guns/year was a clueless idiot. NO LIMIT on acquisitions, regardless of how you get them. Limit ONLY applies to FTF DISPOSITIONS (guns you sell/give away) except there is again no limit on an executor disposing of guns per the wishes of the deceased.

AGAIN DO NOT USE THE "INHERITANCE" FEATURE ON THE MA eFA-10 website. USE "REGISTRATION" ONLY and ignore the first page request for source info, just hit next.

 

[aguitarestv]

awesome. thanks LenS.