Robert K. Merting - Attorney at Law
Trust Your Guns: A firearms, business, and ITAR knowledgeable law practice
The ATF requires all gun trusts to have a ‘Schedule A.’ This is nothing more than a list of assets assigned to the trust. This simple addendum to the trust affirmatively establishes what property, such as NFA firearms, belongs to the trust. Without such an assignment the ownership of a particular firearm might be in Read More …
Many times I have been told that NFA ownership is prohibitively expensive because there is a yearly tax. Fortunately, there is no truth to this myth. The tax for NFA firearms is a one time tax paid only upon the transfer of the firearm. The tax was set to be prohibitively expensive in 1934: $200.00. Read More …
Granted, the ATF is not the most transparent federal agency, but I hear a lot of myths about the ATF from clients and friends. One of the most prevalent goes along the lines of this: “If I buy a NFA firearm I have to waive my fourth amendment right and allow the police to search Read More …
The selling of NFA firearms are regulated at two levels. Dealers in NFA firearms are held to a slightly higher standard than a mere private owner transferring his firearms privately. It is true that both must register the sale of the firearm with the ATF, but the private owner is not subject to federal age requirements for Read More …
I am commonly asked if a clients pre-existing business entity or family trust can be used to acquire NFA firearms rather than establishing a separate trust specifically for this purpose. Yes of course the entity can be used to acquire NFA firearms, but that doesn’t make it a good idea. A purpose specific NFA Trust Read More …