Question about firearms. Person died with no will (that anyone can find at least)

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A friends FIL died recently. He wasn’t super close to my friends wife (his daughter) but she is the next of kin along with her adopted brother. He was in his 70s and apparently did not have a win or anything with respect to his property, bank accounts etc. he had a long term gf

The rumor is he had some firearms, land in western MA ( I did a search on the registers of deeds but nothing showed, so may not exist or may not be in the registry’s antiquated system.


A few questions. If there are firearms what is the legal process to transfer them now that he’s dead and there probably isn’t a will? (I know, shut up and enjoy them). I’m not sure the friend would go that route.


2nd is regarding safes. The rumor is there are 3. I have no idea if that’s correct and if so the size and quality of them. How easy is it for a locksmith to get into a safe (from the big box quality to better safes)? Any idea of the cost? (Best guess is fine). Can the safes be opened without drilling them?

Thanks.
 
I will comment about the safes. Selective drilling is no big deal by a pro
I have a friend that does it (not in western MA) and he just has a bunch of old/new books with locations to drill
After he does what he needs he fills in the drill spots and paints them and they looks new.
Some have different exploits easier over drilling
 
I suggest some reading here:

Each state has a law indicating succession of property for intestate deaths. Any transfers beyond that legally must be handled like any other transfer (FFL or LTC holder who owns/inherited it to a third party).

The laws on inheritance in MA haven't changed since I posted that original thread, so the info is still valid. DO NOT involve FFLs unless it must be a 3rd party transfer and the person who inherited the guns doesn't have a LTC and has no desire to get one.
 
I suggest some reading here:

Each state has a law indicating succession of property for intestate deaths. Any transfers beyond that legally must be handled like any other transfer (FFL or LTC holder who owns/inherited it to a third party).

The laws on inheritance in MA haven't changed since I posted that original thread, so the info is still valid. DO NOT involve FFLs unless it must be a 3rd party transfer and the person who inherited the guns doesn't have a LTC and has no desire to get one.

Thanks. I skimmed that last night but it’s 15 years old, I wasn’t sure if things changed especially since MA always loves to make things more difficult over time rather than streamline things.
 
A member at our club died of COVID over a year ago. An extremely wealthy fella with hundreds of thousands of dollars firearms, millions of dollars in collectible watches and so much more. And he died without a will.

Those close to him tried to get him to do so. As brilliant as he was he just never did so for his own reasons.

Allegedly his sole relative, a long estranged sister, is getting everything. I know that would not be what he wanted. But he didn't spell out his wishes when alive. And the lawyers are cleaning up arguing about the estate's assets.

Create a will, everyone. It's important.
 
A friends FIL died recently. He wasn’t super close to my friends wife (his daughter) but she is the next of kin along with her adopted brother. He was in his 70s and apparently did not have a win or anything with respect to his property, bank accounts etc. he had a long term gf

The rumor is he had some firearms, land in western MA ( I did a search on the registers of deeds but nothing showed, so may not exist or may not be in the registry’s antiquated system.


A few questions. If there are firearms what is the legal process to transfer them now that he’s dead and there probably isn’t a will? (I know, shut up and enjoy them). I’m not sure the friend would go that route.


2nd is regarding safes. The rumor is there are 3. I have no idea if that’s correct and if so the size and quality of them. How easy is it for a locksmith to get into a safe (from the big box quality to better safes)? Any idea of the cost? (Best guess is fine). Can the safes be opened without drilling them?

Thanks.
As to drill-less openings:

If the same has one of the high quality electronic locks (not a cheapie unknown generic) and is it not in the Kaba-Mas X-## series, it can generally be opened in about 15 minutes **IF** the locksmith has a Phoenix. Phoenix Electronic Safe Lock Recovery Tool

The ITL auto-dialer will work on 3 wheel Group II (and maybe II-m) locks but takes tens of hours and will put enough wear on the wheels that you should replace the lock once open. The Soft Drill intelligent auto dialer would generally open a 3 wheel dial lock in about 15 minutes since it did analysis similar to manual safe manipulation, but I don't think it is available now.

And, of course, there is the rare individual skilled in manual manipulation. Most who know what they are doing will use graph paper, but a real master like the late Jeff Sitar can do it in their head.

Given the existence of the Phoenix, I do not understand how/why UL gives these locks a Group I rating.

The S&G regional rep confirmed that it works on their Titan e-locks but assured me I did not have to worry about encountering a crook with one.
 
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