PA Elder, Estate & Fiduciary Law Blog: "Guns in Estates & Trusts" Seminar

On Friday, April 25, 2008, at noon, a one-hour seminar was presented at the Cumberland County Bar Association, in Carlisle, PA, by Neil E. Hendershot & Joshua G. Prince on the topic "Weapons in an Estate or Trust: What to do with the Guns?"

This was the outline for the presentation:

Introductions, Handouts, and Audience Poll
Concerns raised by possession of a weapon
Legal References:

Firearms Law Deskbook, by Stephen P. Halbrook (available on Westlaw; Updated September 2007)
Pennsylvania Bar Institute Publication № 04488, Dealing with Firearms in Estates & Business Transactions (Nov, 2006), by in e-pub, book, audio, or book & audio; and PBI Publication № 04914, The Law of Guns in Pennsylvania (Dec, 2007), by Thomas J. Rozman, Esq.

Overview of relevant federal & PA firearms laws:

See: 26 USC 5801, et. seq.
National Firearms Act -- ATF Informational Links
PA Crimes Code, Title 18, Chapter 61 re "Firearms and Other Dangerous Articles"
Summary of PA firearms laws in PSP Brochure
Summary of PA gun use laws in Your Pennsylvania Gun Rights, posted by PA Open Carry.

Review of articles by Joshua G. Prince (edited by Neil E. Hendershot) as posted on the PA Elder, Estate & Fiduciary Law Blog:

"I bequeath my machine gun to . . ." (Sep. 12, 2007) -- Grandpop’s Machine Gun in the Chest, Part I
"I Inventory the SBR, AOW, DD, & Suppressor at . . ." (Oct. 19, 2007) -- Grandpop’s Machine Gun in the Chest, Part II
Estate Planning for Grandpop's Gun in the Chest (Nov. 11, 2007) -- Estate Planning 101 under the National Firearms Act
See also: "Violating Due Process: Convictions Based on the National Firearms Registration and Transfer Record When Its Files Are Missing", by Joshua G. Prince (2008), posted online.

Guns in an Estate:

Finding & Handling -- AHSA Principles of Gun Safety
Identifying, Listing, & Valuing:

Type Characterization:

ATF on Identification of Firearms - Part 1 [Print Version] (7/28/06)
ATF on Identification of Firearms - Part 2 [Print Version] (7/28/06)

Appraisal Guides:

Blue Book of Gun Values -- 29th Edition (2008) will be 2,176-pages long, available in book, CD, downloadable, & subscription formats

Standard Catalog of Firearms, by Schwing

Flayderman's Guide to Antique American Arms

R.L. Wilson's Official Guide

Standard Catalog of Smith & Wesson, by Jim Supica & Richard Nahas

See: Armchair Gun Show's Gun Values
See: Shotgun World's Identification & Appraisal Links
See: Guns & Ammo 's Directory

See: Links for Curios & Relics

Securing, Transporting, & Insuring:

See: Safe Gun Storage
See: Transporting Firearms Safely

See: Differences Between Firearm Insurance and Firearm Business Insurance, by Hilary Bowman
See: Liability Insurance and the Regulation of Firearms, by Tom Baker & Thomas Farrish, posted on SSRN

Selling:

See: 100 Top Gun Sites
See: Frequently Asked Questions re Gun Dealers in PA by the PA State Police
Example of commercial listing: Internet Shooting Directory of Gun Dealers (by state)

Transferring or Distributing

ATF Special Notice on "Transfers of National Firearms Act Firearms in Decedents' Estates" (Rev 02/23/06).
ATF Letter (12/29/05) Open Letter to All PA Federal Firearms Licensees re private transfers of handguns to individuals (18-21 yrs old)

Guns in a Trust; and a "Gun Trust":

Weapons as tangible personal property with special characteristics
Class 3 Firearm under the National Firearms Act
See: Florida Estate Planning Lawyer Blog, by David M. Goldman, Esq., under topic "Gun Trusts"

Online resources (see below)

Both Josh & I are firearms owners & users (he far, far more than me). However, this seminar was not about the politics of gun ownership, including the effects of gun availability on crime or self-protection, or local governmental regulation of firearm possession, as recently argued before the United States Supreme Court on March 18, 2008, in the case District of Columbia v. Heller.

Instead, this seminar considered what to do when a firearm falls into the hands of an estate's personal representative or a trust's fiduciary.

In connection with the seminar, I post below some additional online resources that Josh & I recommend for the proper "care and feeding" of weapons, whether held by an individual, or by an estate/trust:

Pennsylvania: